Risks and benefits of bilateral nephrectomy: an analysis of 134 cases

In a retrospective survey of 134 patients undergoing bilateral nephrectomy from 1969 to 1980 it was found that the commonest indications were hypertension (60%) and infection/reflux (22%). Operation in hypertensive dialysis patients was followed by a fall in blood pressure in 70% (SE 9%) at one and 3 months while normotensive patients having their kidneys out for other reasons had a 47% (SE 11%) incidence of hypertension at one month and 7 out of 10 were still hypertensive at 3 months. When operation was performed in transplanted patients, 7 of 10 hypertensives had a fall in pressure, one of 6 normotensive persons had an increase, an use of antihypertensive drugs fell from 13/16 to 4 of 16 patients. The mortality was 10.4% (SE 2.6%) overall, the mortality of operations which included an unplanned splenectomy was significantly higher. There were 34 other complications in 25 patients. Complications, but not deaths, were more frequent in operations performed in dialysis patients rather than at the same time as, or after, a transplant. Over 12 years the ratio of bilateral nephrectomy to renal transplant operations has fallen from 8% (1969-1971) to 18% (1978 to present). The decrease is partly due to a fall in the number of operations for hypertension in dialysis patients and may be related to the appearance of beta-blocker and new vasodilator drugs.