Laparoscopic decortication of simple renal cysts: A systematic review and meta-analysis to determine efficacy and safety of this procedure

OBJECTIVES: To determine the efficacy and safety of laparoscopic deroofing of symptomatic simple renal cysts.METHODS: A Cochrane style systematic review was conducted on published literature from 1990 to 2017, to include case series and randomised controlled trials. A pooled meta-analysis was conducted.RESULTS: A total of 696 patients who had laparoscopic deroofing of their simple renal cysts were identified. Complete radiological resolution was seen in 96% of patients with 95% of patients completely symptoms free. Less than 1% of patients had intra-operative complications and 1.4% developed postoperative complications.CONCLUSIONS: Cumulative analysis of the literature examining the role of laparoscopic decortication in the management of symptomatic simple renal cysts reveals that the procedure is highly efficacious to relieve symptoms. The procedure was also associated with a significant radiological success rate (96.3%). It was also shown to be safe, with a low complication rate. We deduced a protocol following this systematic review for the management of symptomatic renal cyst in an aim to help select patients that would benefit from laparoscopic decortication.