Robot-assisted laparoscopic and open live-donor nephrectomy: a comparison of donor morbidity and early renal allograft outcomes.

Background: Robot-assisted laparoscopic donor (RALD) nephrectomy, a new procedure for the removal of a kidney from a living donor, was performed on 13 subjects at our centre.

Methods: The immediate post-operative courses for these donors, and their respective recipients, were compared with those of 13 previous open live-donor nephrectomies (OPEN), performed in our facility.

Results: We found no significant differences between these two donor groups with respect to age, gender, body mass index or renal vasculature.