Purpose: To compare the clinical outcomes of two-port laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (TPLDN) vs hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (HALDN).
Patients and methods: Between November 2010 and March 2012, 100 kidney donors scheduled for left nephrectomy were alternatively assigned to HALDN or TPLDN in a 1:1 fashion. All procedures were performed by the same laparoscopic surgeon. Demographic data and intraoperative and early postoperative data were collected prospectively and analyzed.
Results: There was no difference in the operating time (133±12 vs 142±17 min, P=0.07), blood loss (55±46 vs 58±52 mL, P=0.84), complication rate (10% vs 12%, P=0.74), and length of hospital stay (3.8±0.8 vs 4.1±2.8 days, P=0.5) between the HALDN and TPLDN groups. The warm ischemia time was longer in the TPLDN group (2.2±0.7 vs 3.5±0.9 min, P<0.001). No statistically significant differences were found in the analgesic requirement and the visual analog pain scores. There was a trend toward quicker return to 100% recovery in the TPLDN group (60±46 vs 39±15 days, P=0.05). The TPLDN group had a significantly smaller surgical incision (8.2±0.6 vs 5.5±0.4 cm, P<0.001) and higher scar satisfaction score (7.8±1.5 vs 8.6±1.3, P=0.02) than the HALDN group. No differences were found in the recipient serum creatinine values or in the incidence of delayed graft function.
Conclusions: In comparing TPLDN and HALDN, there was no significant difference in a majority of the operative and postoperative parameters. TPLDN might be associated with smaller surgical incision, improved cosmetic satisfaction, and equivalent recipient graft function.