Laparoscopic-assisted renal biopsy: an alternative to open approach

An open renal biopsy frequently is performed when the conventional percutaneous approach is contraindicated. Although many of the surgical procedures, previously performed by a traditional open technique, are now successfully accomplished by laparoscopic technique, there remains a paucity of reports on laparoscopic kidney biopsy. We describe the use of laparoscopic technique in performing native kidney biopsy in three patients and review the potential safety and accuracy of this approach. To date, laparoscopic-assisted renal biopsy has been reported in six patients. The average length of stay in our small series was 1.3 days, and there were no major or catastrophic complications. Adequate numbers of glomeruli for confirmation of microscopic diagnosis were obtained in all cases. The review of literature, in addition to our encouraging preliminary results of a small group of patients, shows a possible role of laparoscopic-assisted renal biopsy in place of an open renal biopsy.