The nephrectomy surgical complication in the living donnor

Renal transplantation from a living donor is now considered the best treatment for chronic renal failure. We reviewed the operative complications in 38 living related donor nephrectomies performed at our institution over the past 14 years. The mean age of our donors was 30 years old with age range between 18 and 58 years old and female predominance (55.2%). These swobs were realized by a posterolateral lumbar lombotomy with resection of the 11 third. The left kidney was removed in 34 donors (90%), surgical complications were noted in 39.4% of the cases: one case of wound of inferior vena cava (2.6%), one case of release of the renal artery clamp (2.6%), four cases of pleural grap (10.5%), one case of pneumothorax (2.6%), one case of pleurisy (2.6%), three cases of urinary infection (7.8%), three cases of parietal infection (7.8%) and one case of patient pain at the level of the wound (2.6%). There were no mortalities. We conclude that the morbidity of living donnor nephrectomy is negligeable compared with the advantages for the recepient. © 2002 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS.