Is right laparoscopic donor nephrectomy right?

The Prevailing Preference for Left Nephrectomy in Living Donor Transplantation Does Not Adversely Affect Long-Term Donor and Recipient Outcomes

BACKGROUND

In living donor renal transplantation, surgeons traditionally prefer the left kidney for donation. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of the choice of laterality of donor nephrectomy on donor and recipient outcomes.

METHODS

The data was obtained from the UK National Health Service Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). During the study period, 7919 donor nephrectomy and transplantation were carried out in 24 transplant centers. Of these procedures, 6407 (80.9%) were left and 1512 (19.1%) were right kidney donors.

RESULTS

Right kidney donation was associated with higher incidence of surgical site infection in the donor. Recipient outcome was superior for left-sided kidneys in terms of immediate graft function, delayed graft function, graft loss within 30 days, and graft survival at 3 years, but not at 1 and 5 years. Open donor nephrectomy (n = 2396, 30.2%) was associated with higher rates of pneumothorax and hemorrhage, longer hospital stay, and inferior graft survival at 3 and 5 years compared with laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (n = 5523, 69.8%).

CONCLUSIONS

A right donor nephrectomy is associated with higher rate of wound infection in the donor and similar long-term graft outcomes in the recipients. Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy offers lower rate of major complications in the donor and a better overall graft survival.

Structured introduction of retroperitoneoscopic donor nephrectomy provides a high level of safety and reduces the physical burden for the donor compared to an anterior mini incision: A cohort study

INTRODUCTION

A major goal in living donor kidney transplantation is to reduce the physical burden for the donor. Key-hole surgery for donor nephrectomy is a safe procedure, but concerns regarding donor safety during the learning phase might be the reason for surgeons' reluctance to change to a minimal invasive approach.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We analyzed the first 100 retroperitoneoscopic donor nephrectomies (RPDN) performed at our institution and compared the results to the last 50 mini incision donor nephrectomies (MIDN) regarding donor and recipient outcome, and analyzed the learning curves of RPDN.

RESULTS

The learning phase of RPDN was very short with significantly shorter operative times compared to MIDN (118 vs. 175 min, p < 0.001) and significantly fewer surgical complications (p = 0.03). RPDN patients rated the physical burden (p = 0.01) as lower, and they felt less bothered by the surgical scar (p = 0.03).

CONCLUSION

Introducing RPDN is safe, even during the learning phase of the surgeons. Changing surgical technique from MIDN to RPDN reduces the surgical burden of the procedure. Our study might encourage more transplant centres to adopt a minimally invasive approach.

Perioperative Events and Complications in Minimally Invasive Live Donor Nephrectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Minimally invasive live donor nephrectomy has become a fully implemented and accepted procedure. Donors have to be well educated about all risks and details during the informed consent process. For this to be successful, more information regarding short-term outcome is necessary.

METHODS

A literature search was performed; all studies discussing short-term complications after minimally invasive live donor nephrectomy were included. Outcomes evaluated were intraoperative and postoperative complications, conversions, operative and warm ischemia times, blood loss, length of hospital stay, pain score, convalescence, quality of life, and costs.

RESULTS

One hundred ninety articles were included in the systematic review, 41 in the meta-analysis. Conversion rate was 1.1%. Intraoperative complication rate was 2.3%, mainly bleeding (1.5%). Postoperative complications occurred in 7.3% of donors, including infectious complications (2.6%), of which mainly wound infection (1.6%) and bleeding (1.0%). Reported mortality rate was 0.01%. All minimally invasive techniques were comparable with regard to complication or conversion rate.

CONCLUSIONS

The used techniques for minimally invasive live donor nephrectomy are safe and associated with low complication rates and minimal risk of mortality. These data may be helpful to develop a standardized, donor-tailored informed consent procedure for live donor nephrectomy.

Risk factors for perioperative complications in hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy

Living donor kidney transplant is the preferred treatment for end-stage renal disease; however, the shortage of kidney donors remains a big problem. One of the major reasons for the shortage of living donors is the risk of potentially serious surgical complications of a procedure in which the donor has no personal medical benefit. Therefore it is important to understand the risk factors for perioperative complications associated with donor nephrectomy. Hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy is the preferred approach for kidney procurement in many medical centers. This review gives an overview of the risk factors in donor nephrectomy and more specifically in hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy.

Comparing Surgical Complications of Donors and Recipients in Retroperitoneoscopic versus Mini-Incision Donor Nephrectomy: A Single-Center Experience

Anterior vertical mini-incision donor nephrectomy (MIDN) has been used as the standard retrieval procedure in our center. Though the MIDN approach was tolerated very well with low complication rates, there were especially cosmetic reasons, to consider a change of procedure. Hence we switched to a total retroperitoneoscopic donor nephrectomy (RPDN) in 2011. We compared the outcome and surgical complications of donors and recipients of the first 30 RPDNs performed with 30 consecutive MIDN procedures. In both techniques, right and left nephrectomies were carried out. After a very short learning curve, the mean RPDN operation times were shorter compared to the MIDN (109 versus 171 min, P<0.01) and donors were discharged earlier. No major complications occurred in the RPDN group and complications were less frequent compared to MIDN (17% versus 40%). The renal function in the recipients was equivalent in both groups at the time of discharge and after one year. We conclude that RPDN is easy to learn for a surgical team experienced in open retroperitoneal donor nephrectomy. The change of the retrieval technique is safe for the donor and the recipient regarding surgical complications and recipients’ renal function. Donors benefit from RPDN due to earlier hospital discharge and faster recovery.

Hand-assisted laparoscopic right donor nephrectomy: safety and feasibility

Purpose

We aimed to prove the safety and feasibility of right-sided hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (HALDN).

Materials and Methods

Between May 2006 and May 2009, 16 patients underwent right-sided HALDN at our institution. Of these patients, 15 showed significantly lower renal function in the right kidney than in the left one and 1 had a stone in the right kidney. When the right renal vein was divided, an EndoGIA stapling device was placed on the wall of the inferior vena cava to gain a maximal length of the vein. We evaluated intraoperative and postoperative parameters such as operative time, delivery time, warm ischemic time, estimated blood loss, intraoperative and postoperative complication rates, length of hospital stay, and serum creatinine levels of donors (at the time of discharge) and recipients (4 weeks postoperatively), comparing the right-sided HALDN group (our study) with a left-sided HALDN group (from a previously reported study).

Results

A total of 16 right-sided HALDNs were successfully performed without any complications or open conversion. All of the intraoperative and postoperative parameters were similar between the right-sided HALDN and left-sided HALDN groups. There were no technical problems in the recipients in the anastomosis of the renal vein, and the ureteral anastomoses were also successful.

Conclusions

Right-sided HALDN is safe and technically feasible in a donor, showing favorable graft outcomes. The results of our study suggest that right-sided HALDN may be preferable in patients with significantly lower renal function in the right kidney than in the left one.