Are you more likely to perform partial rather than radical nephrectomy for tumors if robotic-assisted surgery is available?

A study published recently in BJU International (2014;114:549-554) found that the availability of robotic-assisted surgery at a hospital was independently associated with greater use of partial nephrectomy (PN) versus radical nephrectomy (RN) for renal cell carcinoma compared with hospitals without such availability.

For the study, researchers merged the Nationwide Inpatient Sample and the American Hospital Association survey from 2006 to 2008 and identified 4,832 and 16,347 RCC patients who underwent PN and RN, respectively.

The study also found that patients were more likely to undergo PN at academic centers and urban centers.

Renal & Urology News invites urologists to answer the following poll question.