Laparoscopic nephrectomy: initial experience with 120 cases

Laparoscopic nephrectomy for both benign and malignant diseases of kidney is increasingly being performed. We report our experience with the first 120 consecutive laparoscopic nephrectomy performed in our hospital. It is the retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained database of 4 years period. The parameters examined included age, gender, indications, operative time, blood loss, intraoperative and post operative complications. Mean age of surgery was 59 years (rang 19-84years). The indications for surgery included solid renal masses (71 patients), non-functioning kidneys (43), and collecting system tumours (6). The mean operating time was 132 minutes (range 75-270), average blood loss was 209 ml (range 0-1090) and average hospital stay was 4.7days (range 2-20). Bleeding, bowel injury and poor progression of laparoscopic procedure were the reasons in 7 (5.8%) cases converted to open surgery. There was 1 (0.8%) perioperative mortality. Eight (6.6%) patients developed post operative complications. Laparoscopic nephrectomy has inherent benefits and may be considered an alternate therapeutic option for kidney diseases with acceptable morbidity