Vascular clips are safe and a great cost-effective technique for arterial and venous control in laparoscopic nephrectomy: single-center experience with 1834 laparoscopic nephrectomies.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and cost-effectiveness of Hem-o-lok and metallic titanium clips for both renal arterial and venous control in laparoscopic nephrectomies.

Patients And Methods: All patients who underwent laparoscopic nephrectomy from June 2000 to March 2011 in our center were included. Before July 2005, we used three medium-large titanium clips for safe control of renal vessels. After July 2005, we used two clips for renal artery control (one 10 mm Hem-o-lok clip and one medium-large titanium clip) and two clips for renal vein control (12 mm and 10 mm Hem-o-lok clips) in all cases. To prevent possible complications, we placed vascular clips 2 to 3 mm away from the aortic root of the renal artery underneath lumbar vessels. Episodes of clip failure were defined as intraoperative or postoperative hemorrhage or exploration because of clip failure.

Results: This study included 1834 laparoscopic nephrectomies (1423 donor nephrectomies, 214 simple nephrectomies, and 197 radical nephrectomies). All arteries and renal veins were controlled by titanium and Hem-o-lok clips. One complication that was probably related to vascular clips (titanium and Hem-o-lok), however, involved a delayed hemorrhage from a pseudoaneurysm at the aortic root of the renal artery, which was repaired at exploration. No complication was clearly related to vascular clips. Using Hem-o-lok and titanium clips instead of vascular staplers resulted in $670 savings per operation.

Conclusions: Hem-o-lok and metallic vascular clips applied properly by trained surgeons according to published safety measures provide a safe and considerable cost-saving option for vascular control in laparoscopic nephrectomy.