title: Reluctance over right-sided retroperitoneoscopic living donor nephrectomy: justified or not?
abstract: We retrospectively compared perioperative donor outcomes and early complication rate of right- and left-sided retroperitoneoscopic living donor nephrectomy (RLDN).
  
  
  METHODS
  From November 2001 to April 2006, we performed 118 RLDN. Including 24% (n = 28) right-sided RLDN and 76% (n = 90) left-sided RLDN. Perioperative results and the rate of adverse events were compared for both sides.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed no significant difference in operation time, blood loss, warm ischemia time, or postoperative creatinine levels between right- and left-sided kidney donors. RLDN was successfully performed in 116 of 118 donors. One donor in each group had to be converted to an open approach. We observed one graft loss due to renal artery kinking in one recipient after left-sided RLDN. Two right donations needed a saphenous venous patch due to a short right renal vein (<2 cm). Overall, intraoperative and postoperative complications were comparable between the two donor groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Right-sided RLDN provides comparable perioperative and postoperative results to those of left-sided RLDN. Our results demonstrated that groups with significant experience in RLDN can perform right living donor nephrectomy safely and efficiently with minimal invasiveness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University Hospital Basel, Spitalstrasse 21, Basel 4031, Switzerland.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ruszat
authors.forename: S F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Wyler
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Forster
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lenggenhager
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dickenmann
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Eugster
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gürke
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Steiger
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Gasser
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sulser
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bachmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016063:Blood Loss, Surgical; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D019520:Living Donors; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009392:Nephrectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012187:Retroperitoneal Space / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods