Initial experience of laparoscopic retroperitoneal partial nephrectomy in an academic hospital in Malaysia

Laparoscopic retroperitoneal partial nephrectomy (LRPN) is a technically demanding kidney surgery due to the limited space and unfamiliar approach in the retroperitoneal space. The aim of this study is to review the outcome of our initial experience in performing this procedure. All patients who underwent LRPN between 2019 to 2022 were included in this retrospective review. A total of 23 patients underwent LRPN. The mean operating time was 178±43 minutes and mean warm ischemia time was 20±5 minutes. The average estimated blood lost was 89±68ml and the mean postoperative hospital stay was 3.6±0.8 days. Two patients (11.1%) had positive margin and no local recurrence was seen after mean follow up of 15.8±12.0 months. Our initial experience on LRPN showed promising results to perform partial nephrectomy safely and effectively.