Laparoscopic Nephrectomy for Nonfunctioning Kidneys Is Feasible After Previous Ipsilateral Renal Surgery: A Prospective Cohort Trial

Purpose: Previous renal surgery is a relative contraindication to laparoscopic nephrectomy because adhesion formation makes surgical dissection difficult. We determined whether previous surgery at the same anatomical site would affected the surgical outcome in patients who underwent transperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy.Materials and Methods: During the study period 79 consecutive patients who underwent transperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy were evaluated prospectively. All patients had symptomatic nonfunctioning small or hydronephrotic kidneys. Patients were divided into 29 with and 50 without prior surgery at the same anatomical site. Previous surgery included open nephrolithotomy in 16 patients, percutaneous nephrolithotomy in 8, open and percutaneous nephrolithotomy in 3, pyelolithotomy in 1 and pyeloplasty in 1.Results: Patients who underwent prior surgery were older than patients who did not (average age 46.6 vs 34.9 years, p = 0.008). Other patient characteristics, including gender ratio, bod...