Reinstatement of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis after transperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the early reinstatement of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) after transperitoneal radical nephrectomy.

METHODS

The medical records of the 3 patients who were using CAPD before laparoscopic radical nephrectomy were retrospectively reviewed. All 3 were reinstated on CAPD during the second postoperative week.

RESULTS

In these 3 patients, the mean hospital stay was 6 days (range 3 to 9), and CAPD was reinitiated 12.7 days (range 10 to 14) after laparoscopic surgery. During the interim between surgery and reinstituting CAPD, all 3 patients underwent hemodialysis (HD) in the hospital and were discharged to local outpatient HD centers. No difficulties were associated with the transition to CAPD, and no complications had occurred after the reinstatement of regular CAPD regimens at a mean follow-up of 11 months (range 10 to 13) in this group of patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study have shown that CAPD can be reinstated within 2 weeks of laparoscopic transperitoneal radical nephrectomy without short-term complications.