Multiple renal arteries in laparoscopic donor nephrectomy

Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy has gained popularity throughout the world recently. The more centers became experienced the more this technique began to be used, even in extreme cases. Kidneys with multiple renal arteries are one of the difficult cases for laparoscopic donor nephrectomy.

Thirty living laparoscopic donor nephrectomies have been performed between January 2001 and December 2002. Twenty-three of them had single and seven kidneys had multiple renal arteries. Single (SA) and multiple (MA) artery groups were statistically similar in terms of donor age, rate of received right kidneys and serum creatinine clearance of the donors.

The mean duration of the donor surgery was 225 min and 240 min in SA and MA groups. In the SA and MA groups, the mean warm and cold ischemia times were statistically similar. Laparoscopic nephrectomy was converted to open procedure in five and one donors, in the SA and MA artery groups, respectively. Intraoperative bleeding (single artery: 4, multiple arteries: 1) was the most common cause for conversion. Postoperative urinary complications were seen in four and one patients, in the SA and MA groups, respectively. Lengths of hospital stay of the donors were similar in both groups. Serum creatinine levels of the patients on seventh, 30th, 90th days, and 1 year were found to be statistically similar in both groups.

Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy was found to be a safe procedure in the donors with multiple renal arteries by the experienced surgical teams, as much as in donors with single arteries.