Long-term functional outcome of renal units after laparoscopic nephron-sparing surgery under cold ischemia.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Renal-artery occlusion is used to control bleeding during laparoscopic nephronsparing surgery, but there are worries about ischemic damage. We compared the functional outcomes of kidneys treated under warm and cold ischemia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twelve patients treated with warm ischemia and 14 treated with cold ischemia had renal function investigation 3 to 6 months postoperatively. Four and ten patients, respectively, also had preoperative studies. RESULTS: In patients treated with warm ischemia, two kidneys had evidence of possible damage, but the kidney with the longest ischemia (56 minutes) was normal. Among patients treated with cold ischemia, function was lost in one case. Parenchymal transit time was prolonged in five patients, but in four cases, this probably was attributable to performance of a contrast-enhanced CT scan the same day. In the fifth patient, an ischemic injury is possible. CONCLUSION: The parenchymal transit time is a good indicator of ischemic damage. Nephron-sparing surgery can lead to damage even if the ischemia time is short and cold ischemia is used. More data are needed on the factors determining such injury.

Role of laparoscopy in management of renal stones: single-center experience and review of literature.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Laparoscopy can be an alternative modality in the management of renal stones. We present our experience with laparoscopic renal stone surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eighteen patients (4 males, 14 females) with mean age of 51 years (range 18-86 years) underwent 19 laparoscopic procedures. The mean stone number and size, excluding five patients who had nephrectomy/heminephrectomy, were 1.9 (range 1-5) and 1.3 cm (range 0.5-4.5 cm), respectively. Three patients with ureteropelvic junction obstruction underwent pyeloplasty and concomitant pyelolithotomy. Three patients with upper-pole caliceal-diverticular stones had nephrolithotomy and fulguration of the diverticular mucosa. Three patients with stones and hydrocalix with scarred cortex had partial nephrectomy, two under cold and one under warm ischemia. Five patients, including one with a horseshoe kidney (who had one procedure on each kidney), had pyelolithotomy as an alternative to percutaneous nephrolithotomy. Patients with stones in a nonfunctioning kidney underwent nephrectomy (three patients) or heminephrectomy (one patient). RESULTS: All procedures were completed laparoscopically. The operative time was variable depending on the complexity of the procedures, from 115 minutes for Fengerplasty to 315 minutes for partial nephrectomy under cold ischemia (mean 178 minutes). The estimated blood loss was 53.2 mL (range 20-120 ml), and none of the patients received a blood transfusion. Complete stone clearance was achieved in 93% of the procedures. The mean hospital stay was 10.5 days (range 5-35 days). Three patients needed temporary pigtail-catheter drainage for obstruction after pyelolithotomy. One patient with a solitary kidney and infected staghorn calculus had prolonged urinary leak, which stopped with conservative management. One nephrectomy for nephrocutaneous fistula was complicated by a late colonic perforation necessitating colostomy. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic surgery is effective for complex renal stones and allows for adjunctive procedures. It can also be an alternative to percutaneous nephrolithotomy. It complements other minimally invasive procedures, and a need for open stone surgery should be rare in the future.

Laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery: evolution in a decade.

OBJECTIVE: To present our experience with laparoscopic nephron sparing surgery (NSS) over a decade. METHODS: Seventy-eight patients underwent NSS since 1994. Two techniques were used-partial nephrectomy without ischemia (group 1) in 29 patients, and with ischemia (group 2) which was in cold or warm ischemia in 24 and 25 patients respectively. The mean tumour size was 1.97 and 2.2 cm in groups 1 and 2 respectively. Renal reconstruction evolved in our hands during this period. We changed many technical details and now we depend more on clips for securing the sutures rather than free hand knotting. RESULTS: The mean operative time was 162 and 216 minutes in groups 1 and 2 respectively. Mean ischemia time for patients with cold and warm ischemia was 44.9 and 33.8 minutes respectively. 3 patients in group 2 were converted to open surgery. Mean blood loss was 254 and 212 ml for group 1 and 2 respectively with two major bleedings in group 2. Minor intra-operative complication occurred in 3 patients, and major and minor postoperative complication in 15 patients. At a mean follow-up of 23.9 and 12.2 months for groups 1 and 2 respectively there was no recurrence. CONCLUSION: Warm and cold ischemia have widened the indications for laparoscopic NSS to more complex tumours and allow renal reconstruction with acceptable complication rate.