Robot-assisted renal transplantation in the retroperitoneum

Minimally invasive surgery for renal transplantation is still under development. We employed the robotic surgical system to perform renal transplantation with a minimally invasive wound. The operation was performed with a Gibson incision and two working ports. The space for the transplantation was created by retroperitoneal dissection with the robot lifting the abdominal wall. Vascular reconstruction was performed with two robotic needle drivers. We successfully performed robot-assisted renal transplantation in five female and five male patients with an average wound length of 7.7 ± 1.04 cm. Nine of the renal allografts functioned immediately, but one with prolonged warm ischemia during the live donor nephrectomy had delayed function. The average creatinine level and estimated glomerular filtration rate at discharge were 1.31 ± 0.31 mg/dl and 58.2 ± 8.1 ml/min, respectively. All the transplants are currently functioning at 6.9 ± 3.9 months after operations. In conclusion, with robot assistance, minimal invasive renal transplantation can be performed successfully in the retroperitoneum.