Is transperitoneal laparoscopic radical nephrectomy suitable for patients with a history of abdominal surgery?

Laparoscopic radical nephrectomy is the gold standard for treatment of renal cell carcinoma. However, previous abdominal surgery is generally regarded as a contraindication to the laparoscopic approach because it causes intraperitoneal adhesions, which are thought to interfere with subsequent laparoscopic procedures inside the abdominal cavity. Few studies have examined the influence of prior surgery on laparoscopic nephrectomy. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of previous laparotomy on laparoscopic nephrectomy.

The records of 251 consecutive patients who had undergone laparoscopic nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma at our hospital between 2005 and 2015 were reviewed retrospectively.

Of the 251 laparoscopic nephrectomy patients, 76 patients (30%) had undergone prior abdominal surgery (surgery group), whereas the remaining 175 patients (70%) had not previously had abdominal surgery (control group). There were no significant differences between the control group and the surgery group with regard to pneumoperitoneum time (143 vs 135 min, P = 0.241) or blood loss (39 vs 36 mL, P = 0.763). Next, we divided the patients into two cohorts based on surgeon experience: 98 patients had been treated by an expert (i.e. someone who performs more than 50 laparoscopic procedures per year) and 153 patients had been treated by a non-expert. There was no significant difference in pneumoperitoneum time between the control and surgery groups in each cohort (treated by experts, 108 vs 103 min; treated by non-experts: 162 vs 166 min).

We conclude that laparoscopic nephrectomy may be feasible after previous abdominal surgery and could be one of the surgical options.