Looped silk tie: surgical technique for management of the renal vein during laparoscopic live-donor nephrectomy.

Laparoscopic live-donor nephrectomy has revolutionized the field of kidney transplantation and has been adopted in many tertiary centers as the method of choice in procuring kidneys. While standard techniques for laparoscopic live-donor nephrectomy have been well described in the literature, there continues to be ample discussion about renal-vein ligation. Endo-GIA and other commonly used vascular stapling devices can be costly and prone to mechanical failures and may not be applicable in certain anatomic situations.

Simultaneous bilateral retrograde intrarenal surgery for bilateral complex upper tract stone disease.

Recent advances in retrograde endoscopy have greatly expanded the role of minimally invasive surgery in addressing upper tract stone disease. In an attempt to decrease patient morbidity further, we present our initial experience with simultaneous bilateral retrograde intrarenal surgery in a patient with complex bilateral upper tract stones.

Newly designed laparoscopic retractable dissector and suture passer.

We introduce a novel laparoscopic instrument that performs as a dissector and retractable suture passer in preparation for intracorporeal knot tying. The newly designed instrument was developed at our institution to duplicate techniques of vessel ligation in open surgery.

Laparoscopic dismembered pyeloureteroplasty: a single institution's 3-year experience.

Purpose: To review our most recent experience with laparoscopic dismembered pyeloureteroplasty (LDP) as treatment for ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction.

Patients And Methods: All patient charts from March 1, 2000, through March 1, 2003, were reviewed to identify individuals who had undergone LDP. Twenty-two consecutive procedures were performed on 21 patients.

Spontaneous, unremitting gross hematuria occurring one week after laparoscopic donor nephrectomy.

Complications associated with the ureteral stump after nephrectomies rarely occur, especially after donor nephrectomies. The potential for the slippage of clips is a well-known event associated with vascular ligations. We report on the first case of clip slippage from the ureter and describe diagnosis and management of the most extreme of morbid presentations.

Laparoscopic skills training using a webcam trainer.

Purpose: Many sophisticated and expensive trainers have been developed to assist surgeons in learning basic laparoscopic skills. We developed an inexpensive trainer and evaluated its effectiveness.

Materials And Methods: The webcam laparoscopic training device is composed of a webcam, cardboard box, desk lamp and home computer.

Early experience with laparoscopic cryoablation in patients with small renal tumors and severe comorbidities.

Purpose: To present our preliminary experience with laparoscopic renal cryoablation in patients with small renal tumors and severe comorbidities.

Patients And Methods: Eight patients with a mean age of 75.6 years (range 68-82 years) who had small (mean 2.

Endoscopic surgery for renal calculi.

Purpose Of Review: Endoscopic surgery plays an important role in the treatment of renal calculi, especially for the more complex cases. Recent advancements have improved the efficacy of procedures, and increasing surgeon experience is associated with low complication rates. This article will review recent literature pertinent to endoscopic surgery for renal calculi.

Hand-assisted and conventional laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy: a comparison of two contemporary techniques.

Background And Purpose: Laparoscopic nephrectomy may make kidney donation more attractive. Modifications such as hand assistance may improve surgical outcomes. We compared our initial experience with hand-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy with that of the conventional laparoscopic technique.

Simultaneous bilateral simple nephrectomy.

Bilateral simultaneous nephrectomy is a rare procedure usually performed for end-stage renal disease, most often because of persistent hypertension after renal transplantation. Four trocars generally are inserted, with a lower abdominal and a subcostal port being used by the surgeon. An intra-abdominal pressure of 8 to 10 mm Hg is used during the procedure.