Pure Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy: A Single Institution Experience From a Middle Eastern Country

Laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy (LLDN) is the most adopted technique for kidney transplantation. Several obstacles preclude brain-dead organ transplantation in the Middle East, going from social and cultural barriers to economical and structural difficulties. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report Lebanese experience with pure LLDN, and kidney transplantation.

We included 120 cases of pure LLDN performed at our center. Demographic, perioperative, and immediate postoperative data were analyzed. Surgical particularities of the technique are described.

The reported laparoscopic technique allowed for minimal perioperative morbidity, with an overall complication rate of 3%. Operative time averaged 146 minutes and warm ischemia time averaged 4 minutes. Mean hospital stay was 3 ± 1 days. Postoperative hemoglobin and creatinine showed a mean absolute variation of 0.09 ± 0.06 g/dL for hemoglobin and 0.51 ± 015 μmoles/L increase for creatinine. No Clavien-Dindo III-V complications were recorded.

Strict adherence to the reproducible pure LLDN technique allowed for the performance of almost 45 cases per year with minimal morbidity and results comparable to similar series.