Utility of inguinal incision in retroperitoneoscopic live donor nephrectomy

Retroperitoneoscopic live donor nephrectomy has been performed in many countries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the inguinal incision as a route for hand-assisted manipulation and allograft retrieval.

From April 2011 to June 2012, a prospective clinical study of 21 cases of retroperitoneal live donor nephrectomy was performed at our hospital. All donors were grouped in a test group (n = 11, inguinal incision) or a control group (n = 10, lumbar incision). The operative time, warm ischaemia time, blood loss, hospital stay, cosmetic satisfaction, incision complications, and recipient's serum creatinines were compared between groups.

All 21 cases of retroperitoneal live donor nephrectomy were accomplished successfully without serious complications. There was no difference in blood loss and operative time between groups. The mean warm ischaemic time and hospital stay was shorter (P < 0.01), and satisfaction with cosmesis was greater (P < 0.05) in the test group. The abdominal asymmetry (4/10) and wound dehiscence occurred only in the control group. The recipient's serum creatinine was lower in the test group at 1 day (P < 0.01) and 3 days (P < 0.05) after transplantation.

The inguinal incision offers an ideal route for hand-assisted manipulation and allograft retrieval during retroperitoneoscopic live donor nephrectomy, and has a potential to be generally applied in the future.