Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy: A single institution minimally invasive general surgeon experience 1999-2013.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (LDN) is the standard of care for donor nephrectomies. No large series reports have been published detailing the LDN experience of minimally invasive general surgeons.

METHODS: A retrospective review of 526 LDNs performed by MIS general surgeons at Baylor University Medical Center between 1999 and 2013. Complications were graded on the Clavien scale. The learning curve was determined by procedure time.

RESULTS: The complication rate was 3.0%. Female donors had shorter operative time than males (141 vs 162 min). Warm ischemia time was shorter with female donors and left kidney procurement. There were six recipient graft losses within 30 days of the transplant. Operative time plateaued after 27 cases.

CONCLUSION: MIS general surgeons using a standardized technique can learn and perform a new, unfamiliar procedure with excellent results. Women are easier to perform organ harvest than men. Organ harvest from obese patients can be safely performed.