Right laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and the use of inverted kidney transplantation: An alternative technique

OBJECTIVES: To report a novel approach to overcome the problems associated with a short right renal vein harvested by clipping the vein during right laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (RLDN). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This prospective study included 32 donors and their recipients; all donors had transperitoneal RLDN. The right renal artery and vein were ligated by Hem-o-lok and titanium clips, which resulted in a very short renal vein (<1.5 cm). When the kidney was positioned inverted in the recipient, the renal vein was placed posteriorly, adjacent to the external iliac vein, making a safe and simple venous anastomosis possible. RESULTS: All RLDN were completed with no conversion or re-operation. The mean (range) warm ischaemia time was 9.59 (3-17) min and there was no malfunction of the vascular clips on the major vessels. After a mean follow-up of 14 months the recipient survival rate was 97%. Graft function was excellent, with a mean (sd) serum creatinine level of 1.35 (0.31) mg/dL at 3 months after surgery, and there was no renal artery or vein thrombosis in any of the grafts. There were two ureteric complications (6%), i.e. one ureterocutaneous fistula resolved by secondary ureteroureterostomy, and one stricture at the site of ureteric anastomosis, which was managed by ureteroneocystostomy. CONCLUSION: The right renal vein obtained by LDN, after clipping the renal vein, is quite short, but by placing the kidney upside-down in the right iliac fossa transplantation is possible with no increased incidence of vascular thrombosis. This simple modification might obviate the need for removing a patch from the inferior vena cava, which is a challenging procedure for laparoscopic surgeons during RLDN.