Inguinal incision as a successful route to extract the kidney during laparoscopic retroperitoneal live-donor nephrectomy.

OBJECTIVES We sought to evaluate the advantages of an inguinal incision in extracting the kidney during retroperitoneal laparoscopic live-donor nephrectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS From May 2008 to June 2011, fifty-eight cases of retroperitoneal live-donor nephrectomy were performed at our hospital; all data were analyzed retrospectively. All donors were grouped in a test group (n=32, inguinal incision) or a control group (n=26, lumbar incision) according to the selected graft retrieval incision. Donors were compared with regard to operative time and warm ischemia time, operative blood loss, hospital stay, cosmetic satisfaction, and incision complications. RESULTS All 58 cases of retroperitoneal live-donor nephrectomy were successfully accomplished, without donor death, serious complications, and conversion to open surgery. There were no differences in mean operative time, mean blood loss, mean warm ischemic time, graft function, and 1-year graft survival rate between the groups. However, in a test group, the mean hospital stay was shorter (P < .01), and the satisfaction with cosmesis was higher (P < .01). The incidence rates of abdomen asymmetry (9/28), incision hernia (4/28), wound infection (5/28), and wound faulty union (6/28) were higher in the control group than they were in the test group. CONCLUSIONS Inguinal incision is a safe and practical graft retrieval incision in retroperitoneal laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and can be generally applied.