Laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy, a new procedure that could eventually lead to an increased pool of donor kidneys, has been successfully completed in over 150 patients at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
The procedure resulted in less pain, shorter hospital stays, and more rapid return to normal activity than in a comparison group of patients who underwent open donor nephrectomy. Success with the laparoscopic approach was achieved in 94% of patients. "Donor families like it," said Paul C. Kuo, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery at the university's Division of Transplantation. Although technically demanding for surgeons, laparoscopic donor nephrectomy is easier on the donor than open nephrectomy. If these early successful results are borne out in the long-term, the researchers are hoping that the advantages of laparoscopic nephrectomy may improve the willingness of people to donate a kidney.
Kuo estimated that the University of Maryland has performed 95% of the living-related laparoscopic nephrectomies that have been carried out in the United States. About four to six live donor nephrectomies are performed there per week. The Journal of Urology published the first report of laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy in June 1996 (1996;155:1857-1859). In that paper, investigators at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center reported successful results in each of three patients who underwent the procedure.
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Paul C. Kuo, MD
29 S. Greene Street, #200, Baltimore, MD 21201
410-328-5408 (phone); 410-328-3837 (fax)
PKUO@surgery1.ab.umd.edu
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