ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the efficacy of retroperitoneal laparoscopic heminephroureterectomy for duplex kidney anomalies.Methods Retroperitoneoscopic heminephroureterectomy was performed on nine patients, six males and three females.The average age of the study group was 37 years ( range 13 to 58).Seven cases had anomalies on the upper kidney pole, two cases had anomalies on the lower kidney pole.Five anomalies were on the left side, two were on the right side and two were in bilateral sides (one special case had three ureters on the left side and two ureters on the right side ).Three cases complained of flank pain; two cases were found hydronephrosis by physical routine examination;Three cases complained of flank pain and fever; one cases complained of hematuria and kidney atones.All the cases were preoperatively diagnosed by color doppler ultrasound, MRU, IVP or CTU.Retroperitoneal laparoscopic heminephroureterectomy was performed on all patients.The operation time, blood loss, hospital stay, intraoperative and postoperative complications and efficacy were observed.Results All the retroperitoneal laparoscopic procedures were successfully completed.No intraoperative complications were found.The average operation time was 87 min (range, 65 to 125).The average blood loss was 112 ml (range, 30 to 600).The recovery times of intestinal function was 1.6 days ( range, 1 to 3 ).The average postoperative hospital stay was 7 days (range, 5 to 12).The syndrome disappeared and kidney function was normal at a mean followup of 18 monthes.Conclusions Retroperitoneal laparoscopic surgeries for duplex kidney has the benefits of being minimally invasive, fewer complications, quick recovery and certainty of efficacy.Retroperitoneal laparoscopic surgeries can be considered as a first operation method to treat duplex kidney anomalies.