ABSTRACT
Operative Technique........................................................................................................... 164 Clinical E xperience ................................................................................................................165 C onclusion ............................................................................................................................. 166
Renal cell carcinoma is the most common primary renal malignancy, account ing for approximately 25,000 cases annually in the United States and resulting in over 10,000 deaths. It is the tenth most common cancer, constituting 3% of all adult malignancies, and generally occurs in adults between the ages of 50 and 70. Males are affected twice as frequently as females.1 It occurs bilaterally in 2 to 4% of individuals either synchronously or metachronously. The incidence of renal car cinoma has steadily increased from 1935 to 1989. However, the mortality has de creased over the same interval,2 suggesting effective treatment or earlier diagnosis.
