LAPAROSCOPIC SIMPLE NEPHRECTOMY: PRELIMINARY EXPERIENCE IN THEODOR BILHARZ RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Aim: The open simple nephrectomy is associated with significant mobidity and laparoscopic nephrectomy is now becoming the standared of care in many centers. In this study we will try to evaluate the actual results of laparoscpic nephrectomy for benign renal lesions in comparison to open nephrectomy. Methods: 17 patients were divided into 2 groups in a non-randomized trial. 8 patients 5 males and 3 females, aged 19-56 underwent open simple nephrectomy. 9 patients, 3 males and 6 females, aged 16-53, underwent laparoscopic simple nephrectomy (3 retroperitoneal and 6 transperitoneal). Results: In spite of the high conversion rate (4 out of 9 cases) the laparoscopic simple nephrectomy was superior to the open technique in terms of intraoperative complications (0 versus 2 patients who needed blood transfusion and another with pleural injury), duration of analgesia requirements (2 versus 4.5 days post operative), starting oral feeding (1 versus 3 days post operative), wound infection (0 versus 2 cases), hospital stay (3 versus 7.5 days) and time for full recovery (22 versus 40 days) The superiority of the laparoscopic simple nephrectomy in terms of analgesia requirement, post operative oral feeding, hospital stay and time for complete recovery were all statistically significant. Conclusion: In spite of this being a preliminary experience of the Urology Department started in association with the General Surgery Department in TBRI, laparoscopic simple nephrectomy was not only found to be a safe procedure but also other all parameters were in favor of the laparoscopic versus the open simple nephrectomy. The conversion rate was expectedly high but it is not until the learning curve peaks up before the true rate appear and properly judged