Can surgical approach affect postoperative analgesic requirements following laparoscopic nephrectomy: Transperitoneal versus retroperitoneal? A prospective clinical study.

Objectives: We performed this prospective clinical study to compare the postoperative recovery profile of our patients after transperitoneal (Group T) and retroperitoneal (Group R) laparoscopic nephrectomy approaches. Our primary hypothesis was that epidural analgesic consumption in Group R would be higher at the end of the first postoperative day.

Methods: Forty-four patients scheduled for elective transperitoneal or retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomies were enrolled.