[Sliding-clip robotic nephropexy]

Nephroptosis is a clinical condition characterized by an abnormal caudal movement of the kidney that descends more than 2 vertebral bodies (or more than 5 cm) during a position change from supine to upright. In the last decade, the availability of laparoscopic surgery has led to a revival of interest in nephroptosis and nephropexy. We describe our technique for transperitoneal laparoscopic robotic-assisted nephropexy.

The surgery was performed on a 78-year-old woman with a BMI of 18 and ASA 2. The diagnosis of nephroptosis was preoperatively confirmed by excretory urography in the supine and upright positions. The patient was placed in Trendelemburg position on the left side. The laparoscopic surgery was performed, through a transperitoneal approach, using the daVinci system: the ptosic kidney was fixed using two separated stiches of non-absorbable prolene 2.0 between the superior surface of the kidney and the quadratus lumborum muscle. The sutures were fixed using Hem-o-lok clips.

Intra- or post-operative complications have not occurred. The effectiveness of treatment was demonstrated by an intravenous urography 60 days after.

Robotic-assisted nephropexy is a safe and effective procedure that leads to both clinical and aesthetic excellent results, comparable to the ones obtained with the laparoscopic approach for the treatment of symptomatic renal ptosis. The robotic-assisted nephropexy appears to be easier, with the particular advantages of the intracorporeal suturing and a better intraoperative view; the sliding-clips method allows reducing the organ trauma to the minimum.