[Laparoscopy in the diagnosis of polycystic kidneys (author's transl)].

Nineteen cases of polycystic kidney disease were studied by laparoscopy in order to demonstrate the presence of renal cysts. The right kidney was seen in all cases and the left in 14. Cysts were not seen in 2 cases in the right kidney and 7 cases in the left. At endoscopy the cysts hve the appearance of thin-walled vesicles, highly variable in number and size. Diagnosis by intravenous pyelography was not possible in 7 cases whilst laparoscopy failed to provide the necessary evidence in only 2 patients.