Single-center analysis of living donor nephrectomy: hand-assisted laparoscopic, pure laparoscopic, and traditional open.

Context—Laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy has been shown to be a safe method for removing kidneys for transplantation, but concerns have been raised regarding safety and long-term kidney function.Objective—To compare safety and long-term kidney function in hand-assisted laparoscopic, pure laparoscopic, and traditional open living donor nephrectomy.Method—The charts of 48 patients with more than 1 year follow-up were reviewed. Thirty-four consecutive patients underwent laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy, and 14 had open donor nephrectomy. All kidneys functioned immediately at transplantation. In the laparoscopic group, 11 had the pure laparoscopic technique, and 23 patients had hand-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy.Results—Total operative and warm ischemic times were reduced with the hand-assisted technique when compared with pure laparoscopy. Operative and warm ischemic times were similar in open nephrectomy and hand-assisted laparoscopy. Long-term follow-up of serum creatinine levels revealed no si...