[Treatment of pseudoaneurysm following partial nephrectomy]

Background: Partial nephrectomy (PN) has become the gold standard for the treatment of small tumors confined to the kidney. As result, the number of PN procedures increased during the last years. Subsequently, we have more often to deal with the complications of this surgery. Among these, pseudoaneurysms are rare but potentially life-threatening due to a risk of bleeding. Therefore, pseudoaneurysms have to be treated according to a relevant strategy.

Methods: We performed a literature review of the cases of pseudoaneurysm after PN was reported as well as a focus on the different treatment strategies and their outcomes.

Results: The incidence of pseudoaneurysm is low, ranging from 0.5% to 4%. Radio-embolization represents the gold standard treatment, used in 98% of the cases reported in the literature, allowing high success rate and rare morbidity. However, in some selected cases, surveillance could be an alternative.