Prospective evaluation of the Surface-Intermediate-Base (SIB) margin score for standardized reporting of resection technique during robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) in a highvolume center: A step-by-step tutorial

INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVES: Tumour excision (TEx) is a fundamental step during partial nephrectomy (PN), yet underreported in the current series. We introduce the concepts of resection strategy (RS, the surgeon’s preoperative intent) and resection technique (RT, the actual surgical result) to describe the complexity of TEx during PN in a standardized way (Fig. 1). In this video we describe a tutorial guide for the evaluation of the Surface-Intermediate-Base (SIB) Margin score as a standardized scoring system of RT during robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) at a high-volume center. MATERIAL & METHODS: After institutional review board approval, data were prospectively collected from a cohort of 90 consecutive patients undergoing RAPN at a single Institution. The RS was either pure enucleative or minimal margin. The SIB score was assigned by two surgeons to classify the overall RT (Fig. 2A-C). CONCLUSIONS: The SIB Margin score is the first standardized reporting system to communicate RT during PN, recently validated from a histopathological perspective. We believe both RS and RT should always be reported in future PN series. Including the SIB score in future reports may allow more objective and meaningful comparisons of results between surgeons and institutions.