Comparison of renal function between the artery and vein clamp and artery‐only clamp in robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy for moderate‐ to high‐complexity renal masses: A propensity‐matched study

Objective Artery and vein (AV) clamps can control venous bleeding in the surgical field and prevent carbon dioxide embolism, especially when large veins are expected to open. However, whether AV clamps cause more renal damage than artery‐only (AO) clamps remains unclear. This study aimed to compare renal function and blood loss in surgeries using AO and AV clamps based on high RENAL nephrometry scores (RNS) in robot‐assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN). Methods We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 500 patients who underwent RAPN between March 2016 and December 2021. We performed 1:1 propensity matching for these patients. Results A total of 340 patients with pathological malignancies who were followed up for at least 12 months were included in this analysis. A total of 291 patients with AO clamping and 49 patients with AV clamping were included. Overall, the AV clamp group had higher total RNSs and larger diameters than the AO clamp group. Propensity score‐matched analysis included 37 patients in each clamp group. The median warm ischemia times of the AV and AO clamps were 25 and 22 min, respectively, with no significant difference. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in the amount of blood loss, rate of acute kidney injury (AKI), or renal function at 1, 3, or 12 months post‐RAPN. Conclusion Compared with the AO clamp, the AV clamp did not have a detrimental impact on blood loss or renal dysfunction. Consequently, AV clamps may be considered for patients presenting with moderate‐to‐high‐complexity RNSs.