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Updated: Aug 11, 2026
Single Port Donor Nephrectomy
Published on: March 12, 2011
Hand-assisted laparoscopic renal surgery: hand-port incision complications
Steven A Terranova1, Khurram M Siddiqui, Glenn M Preminger
1Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
Background And Purpose:
Hand-assisted laparoscopic (HAL) renal surgery is an accepted standard of practice. We report our complications at the hand port-site incision in various HAL urologic procedures.
Patients And Methods:
Data and follow-up were complete for 54 patients who underwent HAL nephrectomy. HAL partial nephrectomy, or HAL nephroureterectomy at our institution from October 2001 to April 2003. A retrospective review of the patients' charts was performed to identify the incidence of postoperative hand port-site complications. The mean patient age was 59 years, and the mean follow-up was 5.4 months.
Results:
Five complications were observed in four patients (9.3%). One patient had a superficial wound infection (1.9%) and an incisional hernia (1.9%) that was surgically repaired. One patient had a superficial incisional breakdown that healed well after conservative measures. One obese patient with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease eviscerated through his hand-port incision after a coughing spell. This was repaired operatively, and the patient healed well with the aid of an abdominal binder. One patient developed an enterocutaneous fistula at her hand-port site that healed well after both operative and conservative management.
Conclusions:
The technique of HAL renal surgery is safe and effective. Complications associated with the hand-port incision exist, and as they become better defined, the surgeon may take extra steps toward their recognition and prevention.
