A Comparison of Hand-Assisted and Pure Laparoscopic Techniques in Live Donor Nephrectomy

PURPOSE: To compare hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy techniques in live donor nephrectomy. METHODS: In this retrospective study, we included all patients submitted to hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy between May 2002 and December 2007. The operative data and post-operative courses were reviewed. Information was collected on the operative time, warm ischemia time, estimated blood loss, intra-operative complications, time to first oral intake, length of hospital stay, and post-operative complications. The data were analyzed using Student's t -tests and Fisher exact tests as appropriate, with statistical significance defined as p < 0.05. RESULTS: The means of the operative duration, warm ischemia time and intra-operative bleeding were 83 min, 3.6 min and 130.9 cc, respectively, for hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy, and 78.4 min, 2.5 min and 98.9 cc, respectively, for pure laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (p=0.29,

Adrenalectomy by Retroperitoneal Laparoendoscopic Single Site Surgery

Adrenalectomy by retroperitoneal laparoendoscopic single-site surgery was found to be a feasible approach using conventional laparoscopic instrumentation

Urologic surgery laparoscopic access: vascular complications

ABSTRACT Vascular injury in accidental punctures may occur in large abdominal vessels, it is known that 76% of injuries occur during the development of pneumoperitoneum. The aim of this video is to demonstrate two cases of vascular injury occurring during access in laparoscopic urologic surgery. The first case presents a 60-year old female patient with a 3cm tumor in the superior pole of the right kidney who underwent a laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. After the Verres needle insertion, output of blood was verified. During the evaluation of the cavity, a significant hematoma in the inferior vena cava was noticed. After the dissection, a lesion in the inferior vena cava was identified and controlled with a prolene suture, the estimated bloos loss was 300ml. The second case presents a 42-year old female live donor patient who had her right kidney selected to laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy. After the insertion of the first trocar, during the introduction of the 10mm scope, an active bleeding from the mesentery was noticed. The right colon was dissected and an inferior vena cava perforation was identified; a prolene suture was used to control the bleeding, the estimated blood loss was 200mL, in both cases the patients had no previous abdominal surgery. Urologists must be aware of this uncommon, serious, and potentially lethal complication. Once recognized and in the hands of experienced surgeons, some lesions may be repaired laparoscopically. Whenever in doubt, the best alternative is the immediate conversion to open surgery to minimize morbidity and mortality

Laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy in patients surgically treated for morbid obesity

In the past, morbid obesity was considered a relative contraindication to renal donation; however, more recent publications have shown that laparoscopic renal surgery is safe and effective for obese donor nephrectomy. We report the performance of a bariatric surgery before the kidney donation in 2 patients in order to improve their medical condition and to reduce their surgical risk to the transplantation procedure. After bariatric surgery, both donors lost more than 30% of their initial corporal weight and their donation procedure was successfully performed, with uneventful postoperative courses

Laparoendoscopic pfannenstiel nephrectomy using conventional laparoscopic instruments - preliminary experience

PURPOSE: To confirm the feasibility of the laparoendoscopic Pfannenstiel nephrectomy using conventional laparoscopic instruments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Since March 2009, laparoscopic nephrectomy through a Pfannenstiel incision has been performed in selected patients in our service. The Veress needle was placed through the umbilicus which allowed carbon dioxide inflow. One 5 mm (or 10 mm) trocar was placed at the umbilicus for the laparoscope, to guide the placement of three trocars over the Pfannenstiel incision. Additional trocars were placed as follows: a 10 mm in the midline, a 10 mm ipsilateral to the kidney to be removed (2 cm away from the middle one), and a 5 mm contralateral to the kidney to be removed (2 cm away from the middle one). The entire procedure was performed using conventional laparoscopic instruments. At the end of the surgery, trocars were removed and all three incisions were united into a single Pfannenstiel incision for specimen retrieval. RESULTS: Five nephrectomies were performed following this technique: one atrophic kidney, one kidney donation, two renal cancers and one bilateral renal atrophy. Median operative time was 100 minutes and median intraoperative blood loss was 100 cc. No intraoperative complications occurred and no patients required blood transfusion. Median length of hospital stay was 1 day (range 1 to 2 days). CONCLUSIONS: The use of the Pfannenstiel incision for laparoscopic nephrectomy seems to be feasible even when using conventional laparoscopic instruments, and can be considered a potential alternative for traditional laparoscopic nephrectomy