Retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephropexy: a report of 28 cases / 第二军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective: To discuss the procedure and clinical effect of retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephropexy (RLN).Methods: From August 2001 to June 2006, RLN was performed on 28 female patients aged 26-45 years old (mean, 34±2.5) with symptomatic nephroptosis, including 15 with the right kidney, 12 with the left, and 1 with both. The preoperative complaint of patients included subjective symptoms (constant and recurring pain in 28 patients) and objective symptoms (upper urinary infections in 16, hematuria in 12, and upper tract obstruction in 12). One patient underwent nephropexy via the transperitoneal approach and the others underwent nephropexy via the retroperitoneal approach. A retroperitoneoscopic procedure was performed after positioning the patients in the flank position. Digital preparation of the retroperitoneal space was made and standardized trocar was placed. The key step of the surgery was complete exposure of the kidney within Gerota' fascia, which was aimed to separate the potential adhesions between the colon and kidney or between the inferior blood vessels of the kidney. Nephropexy was performed between the fibrous capsule at the lower pole of the kidney and the dissected psoas muscle, using three sutures placed by intracorporeal technique or the percutaneous needle both for introduction and removal of the suture; the sutures were separately tied over the sacrospinalis fascia. Results: The mean operative time was (125±9) min (ranging 115-240 min); the mean postoperative hospital stay was (9±1.2) days, largely owing to the required 5-12 days' bed rest. During a mean follow-up of (24±4.2) months(ranging 3 to 70 months), 3 patients had paresthesia, 5 had constant and recurrent ache, 20 were completely free of pain, and 4 had micro-hematuria. One patient had further episodes of pyelonephritis and upper tract obstruction after operation. Intravenous pyelogram(IVP) revealed that the ptosis incorporated into more than one vertebral body in 2 patients. Postoperative renal function test showed an improvement in renal function. Conclusion: RLN is mini-invasive and has less complication. The procedure should be considered as one of the optimal therapy for nephroptosis.