Single-center analysis of living donor nephrectomy: hand-assisted laparoscopic, pure laparoscopic, and traditional open.

CONTEXT

Laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy has been shown to be a safe method for removing kidneys for transplantation, but concerns have been raised regarding safety and long-term kidney function.

OBJECTIVE

To compare safety and long-term kidney function in hand-assisted laparoscopic, pure laparoscopic, and traditional open living donor nephrectomy.

METHOD

The charts of 48 patients with more than 1 year follow-up were reviewed. Thirty-four consecutive patients underwent laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy, and 14 had open donor nephrectomy. All kidneys functioned immediately at transplantation. In the laparoscopic group, 11 had the pure laparoscopic technique, and 23 patients had hand-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy.

RESULTS

Total operative and warm ischemic times were reduced with the hand-assisted technique when compared with pure laparoscopy. Operative and warm ischemic times were similar in open nephrectomy and hand-assisted laparoscopy. Long-term follow-up of serum creatinine levels revealed no significant differences between the 3 groups. Complication rates in the 3 groups were similar.

CONCLUSION

Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy appears to be comparable to open donor nephrectomy in terms of safety and long-term graft function.