Retroperitoneoscopy assisted live donor nephrectomy: The initial 2 cases

Purpose: We investigated retroperitoneoscopy assisted nephrectomy in living kidney donors. Materials and Methods: Gasless surgery was performed with a 10 cm. upper abdominal pararectus skin incision and 2 trocars. The abdominal wall was lifted using special retractors and the kidney was removed via the pararectus incision. Results: The operating time, blood loss, warm ischemic time and postoperative recovery period for the 2 donors were a mean of 210 minutes, 102 ml., 3.5 minutes and 4.5 days, respectively. There were no operative or postoperative complications. Postoperative recovery was significantly more rapid than after open donor nephrectomy. There were no differences with regard to graft biopsy findings or postoperative graft function between retroperitoneoscopy assisted and open donor nephrectomy. Conclusions: Retroperitoneoscopy assisted nephrectomy could be advantageous for healthy kidney donors since it is minimally invasive.