Can hamartoma be completely cured?

Hamartoma is a malignant tumor with a unique pathogenesis and is also a relatively common benign kidney tumor. However, not many people know much about this disease. When the word is mentioned, they become worried, afraid, and even panic. So do we know whether hamartoma can be completely cured?

Treatment of Hamartoma:

The treatment of hamartoma is somewhat controversial and is closely related to the size of the tumor and associated symptoms, especially rupture and bleeding.

1. Observation: Oesterling believed that tumors <4 cm can be left untreated, but close follow-up is required. Johns Hopkins reported a group of 35 cases, some of which did not continue to grow for many years. Steiner advocated that patients <4 cm should be followed up once a year even if they are asymptomatic; patients >4 cm should be followed up once every six months if they are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

2. Embolization: Arterial embolization should first be considered in cases of bleeding. According to experience, the volume of the tumor does not decrease after embolization, but the bleeding can be stopped. Superselective renal artery branch embolization is often used to protect some renal function.

3. Nephron-sparing surgery: Tumors <5cm can be enucleated, especially those at the edge of the kidney. However, some tumors have unclear capsules, irregular shapes, and unclear interfaces, making enucleation unsafe. In this case, partial nephrectomy can be performed.

4. Surgical treatment: The surgical procedure of preserving renal tissue, which we call partial nephrectomy, can not only completely remove the tumor, but also preserve renal tissue and protect renal function to the greatest extent. It has very good long-term effects and is very meaningful for the treatment of renal hamartoma (including cases of partial rupture and bleeding).

Partial nephrectomy can be divided into open surgery and laparoscopic surgery. According to the current medical level, laparoscopic surgery is recommended as the first choice. It is not only less traumatic, but also completely removes the tumor. It can also be used to obtain pathological data to confirm the nature of the tumor. In recent years, laparoscopic surgery has gradually become the preferred method for treating renal hamartomas due to its unique advantages such as less trauma, faster wound healing, shorter hospital stay, less bleeding, and beautiful incisions.

5. Transplantation or hemodialysis: Only applicable to patients who must undergo bilateral nephrectomy due to bilateral lesions leading to renal failure or tumor rupture and bleeding.

6. Interventional embolization: Generally speaking, interventional embolization is simple and safe, but some scholars believe that this treatment is not thorough and cannot guarantee complete blockage of the blood supply to the hamartoma, so there is a possibility of secondary embolization or conversion to surgical treatment. However, it is a good first aid method for ruptured bleeding.

Can hamartoma be completely cured? The above are the methods for treating hamartoma. The clinical characteristics of hamartoma are asymptomatic rapidly growing masses. Surgery is the preferred treatment method for hamartoma. Although this tumor is benign, its rapid enlargement increases the difficulty of surgery, so it is advisable to perform surgery as soon as possible.