Purpose of review: The techniques derived from abdominal transplant surgery have become a major actor in recent surgical evolution by providing a more optimal solution for urologic malignancies hosted in the upper abdomen. To describe in detail the objectives, rationale, relevant milestones, and surgical maneuvers of the so-called transplant techniques as applied to complex urologic oncology cases.
Recent findings: The transplant-based surgical approach aims to decrease perioperative complications by improving tumor accessibility and field visibility through an enhanced exposure (via the use of a transverse incision, a specific retractor, and specific surgical maneuvers). A sequence of milestones inspired these advances, which finally brought the technique into maturation. The transplant-based approach has demonstrated its safety and usefulness even in the low-volume practice of more complicated urologic oncology, offering protection against the occurrence of perioperative adverse events and placing us at the gates of a new stage of surgical innovation.
Keywords: Evolution; Surgery; Transplantation techniques, history; Urologic oncology.