Making sense of postoperative CT imaging following laparoscopic partial nephrectomy

The increasing popularity of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) necessitates radiologists to become familiar with the operative techniques as well as normal and abnormal postoperative findings. Due to the varying presentation of abnormal changes following LPN and their similarities with other disease entities, radiologists should be cognizant of common pitfalls to avoid inadvertent misdiagnosis. A few common pitfalls discussed in this paper are the identification of laparoscopic port placement issues, recognizing a myriad of post-surgical materials, differentiating haemostatic materials from postoperative abscess and infection, non-absorbable suture material mimicking rim calcifications, as well as hints for differentiating exuberant granulation tissue from tumour recurrence.