Kidney Transplant Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Kidney Transplant, including details on risks, prognosis, procedure, surgery, organ donation.

Long-term outcomes and late complications of laparoscopic nephrectomy with renal autotransplantation.

Eisenberg ML, Lee KL, Zumrutbas AE, Meng MV, Freise CE, Stoller ML

Department of Urology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143-0738, USA.

PURPOSE: We report long-term outcomes and late complications after laparoscopic nephrectomy with autotransplantation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed clinical data on all patients who underwent laparoscopic nephrectomy with autotransplantation between July 2000 and March 2007. Late complications, ie greater than 6 months, that required surgical intervention were analyzed. Clinical outcomes in patients with primary ureteral stricture disease and oncological outcomes in patients with renal tumors were examined. RESULTS: Indications for autotransplantation included complex ureteral stricture disease in 15 patients and renal malignancy in 4. Median age at surgery was 48 years (range 25 to 68). Median followup was 29 months. Of the 17 patients with greater than 6 months of followup late complications requiring surgical intervention occurred in 4. Transplant nephrectomy was required in 2 patients in the stricture group. Indications for nephrectomy were nonfunction complicated by pseudoaneurysm in 1 case and chronic loin pain in 1. Another patient had recurrent nephrolithiasis requiring percutaneous nephrolithotomy and in 1 a pseudoaneurysm was managed successfully by endovascular techniques. Two patients in the tumor group had disease progression, which was managed medically. CONCLUSIONS: Given the complexity and severity of disease that necessitates renal autotransplantation, it is not surprising that additional treatments are required. Patients with primary stricture disease may be at increased risk for vascular aneurysm due to infection and/or inflammation. Tumor progression is possible after ex vivo tumor excision and autotransplantation, especially in patients requiring heroic measures to avoid or delay dialysis. Thus, careful patient selection and vigilant followup are mandatory.

Published 13 December 2007 in J Urol, 179(1): 240-3.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Kidney Transplant Research Today. All Rights Reserved.