Retroperitoneoscopic approach to nephrectomy

Laparoscopic management of a variety of renal diseases has assumed an increasingly important role as an alternative to open surgery. At many institutions, the transperitoneal approach has been the more commonly employed technique because it creates a larger working space and reveals easily recognized landmarks. At the Cleveland Clinic, however, laparoscopic simple nephrectomy for benign disease and laparoscopic radical nephrectomy for cancer are preferentially approached retroperitoneoscopically. Herein, we present our technique of retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy.