Initial Experience From Implementation of Hand-Assisted Retroperitoneoscopic Live Donor Nephrectomy in Saudi Arabia

Introduction: Donor risks and morbidity are consequences of the invasiveness of donor nephrectomy procedure. The flank incision is currently the default donor nephrectomy procedure at the King Faisal Hospital in Saudi Arabia. In order to minimize the surgical-related trauma, we are implementing the hand-assisted retroperitoneoscopic live donor nephrectomy (HARS), which previously has been shown to promote donor safety. Here, we present our initial experience with this procedure. Material and Methods: The HARS technique was implemented at our center in 2010. We present a survey of our data regarding operative characteristics as well as donor/recipient outcome. Given the small number of cases, data are presented as median with range. Results: Between 2010 and 2013, 18 left -sided HARS nephrectomy procedures were performed. The median donor age and BMI were 26.5 (18-43) and 24.1 (18.7-30.7), respectively. The median hospitalization was 4 days (3-5). One donor presented wound seroma in the pfannenstiell incision with no need for intervention. Another donor presented unspecific thoracoabdominal pain on postoperative day 2. No intra-and postoperative bleeding was observed. The median creatinine at the current follow-up was 90 mu mol/L with 100% graft survival. Conclusion: HARS is a feasible and safe technique. However, for implementation of HARS as the default donor nephrectomy procedure more practice is needed.