Diagnosis of renal parenchymal diseases by a modified open kidney biopsy technique

Percutaneous needle biopsy has evolved into a relatively safe and effective method for diagnosing renal abnormalities. When performed by experienced physicians, the success rate ranges between 80 and 95% with a complication rate of 5 to 10% [1,2]. This method, however, is not appropriate for all patients. There are some clinical situations which are considered absolute or relative contraindications to this procedure. A percutaneous biopsy is not performed if the patient has severe hypertension, very small or extremely mobile kidneys, pyelonephritis, hydronephrosis, bleeding disorders, a solitary kidney, or another congenital anomaly. Relatively contraindications include severe uremia and an uncooperative patient [3, 4]. In addition to these contraindications, a small percentage of the percutaneous biopsies fail to obtain sufficient tissue for establishing a diagnosis [4, 5].