Hand-assisted laparoscopic radical nephrectomy in the treatment of a renal cell carcinoma with a level II vena cava thrombus. (1/23)

Excision of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with corresponding vena cava thrombus is a technical challenge requiring open resection and vascular clamping. A 58 year old male with a right kidney tumor presented with a thrombus extending 1 cm into the vena cava. Using a hand-assisted transperitoneal approach through a 7 cm gel-port, the right kidney was dissected and the multiple vascular collaterals supplying the tumor were identified and isolated. The inferior vena cava was mobilized 4 cm cephalad and 4 cm caudal to the right renal vein. Lateral manual traction was applied to the right kidney allowing the tumor thrombus to be retracted into the renal vein, clear of the vena cava. After laparoscopic ultrasonographic confirmation of the location of the tip of the tumor thrombus, an articulating laparoscopic vascular stapler was used to staple the vena cava at the ostium of the right renal vein. This allowed removal of the tumor thrombus without the need for a Satinsky clamp. The surgery was completed in 243 minutes with no intra-operative complications. The entire kidney and tumor thrombus was removed with negative surgical margins. Estimated blood loss was 300 cc. We present a laparoscopic resection of a renal mass with associated level II thrombus using a hand-assisted approach. In patients with minimal caval involvement, our surgical approach presents an option to the traditional open resection of a renal mass.  (+info)

Hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy in patients with aberrant inferior vena caval anatomy. (2/23)

OBJECTIVES: Hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy has become an established technique for live-donor organ retrieval. In most cases, the left kidney is removed because of its more favorable anatomic relations, particularly with the major abdominal vessels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We present 2 cases of live donation in which a hand-assisted laparoscopic approach was used to remove the right kidney as indicated by the presence of aberrant vascular anatomy, 1 being situs inversus totalis, the other a left-sided inferior vena cava. RESULTS: A 41-year-old woman and a 51-year-old man underwent assessment for live-kidney donation. During preoperative investigation, they underwent magnetic resonance imaging that demonstrated situs inversus totalis and a left-sided inferior vena cava. No contraindications to live donation were found during the investigation. In both cases, a right donor nephrectomy was performed owing to an anatomically longer right renal vein. Living donation proceeded without complication in both cases, and both patients had uneventful recoveries. CONCLUSIONS: Abnormalities in vascular anatomy should not be considered an absolute contraindication to donation, even by the hand-assisted laparoscopic donor approach. The use of magnetic resonance scanning preoperatively allows detailed planning of the approach required.  (+info)

Controversy of hand-assisted laparoscopic colorectal surgery. (3/23)

Laparoscopically assisted colorectal procedures are time-consuming and technically demanding and hence have a long steep learning curve. In the technical demand, surgeons need to handle a long mobile organ, the colon, and have to operate on multiple abdominal quadrants, most of the time with the need to secure multiple mesenteric vessels. Therefore, a new surgical innovation called hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS) was introduced in the mid 1990s as a useful alternative to totally laparoscopic procedures. This hybrid operation allows the surgeon to introduce the non-dominant hand into the abdominal cavity through a special hand port while maintaining the pneumoperitoneum. A hand in the abdomen can restore the tactile sensation which is usually lacking in laparoscopic procedures. It also improves the eye-to-hand coordination, allows the hand to be used for blunt dissection or retraction and also permits rapid control of unexpected bleeding. All of those factors can contribute tremendously to reducing the operative time. Moreover, this procedure is also considered as a hybrid procedure that combines the advantages of both minimally invasive and conventional open surgery. Nevertheless, the exact role of HALS in colorectal surgery has not been well defined during the advanced totally laparoscopic procedures. This article reviews the current status of hand-assisted laparoscopic colorectal surgery as a minimally invasive procedure in the era of laparoscopic surgery.  (+info)

Kidney removal: the past, presence, and perspectives: a historical review. (4/23)

More than 140 years have passed since the first documented planned nephrectomy. Throughout all these years, people gained significant knowledge on the renal functions and diseases, and what is more, the surgical workshop underwent considerable improvement. Initially, the kidney removal operations were performed due to ureterovaginal fistulas and renal lithiasis. Later, they were executed mainly in patients with renal tumors, whereas today, the number of these surgeries tend to decrease to the benefit of nephron sparing procedures. Current nephrectomies are more and more often performed in case of organ donation, what will probably remain the most significant indication for the kidney removal in close future. While the first surgeries were executed with classical surgical methods, nowadays, after years of studies concerning nephron sparing and minimally invasive operations, we can see surgeries carried out through natural body orifices with robotic assistance. In relation to simple surgical operation based on ligation of 3 tubular anatomic structures, we can perceive the true scope of the progress that occurred in surgery. The aim of this article is to present the evolution of indications and operating techniques utilized to remove the kidney in chronological aspect.  (+info)

Hand-assisted laparoscopic colorectal surgery: initial experience of a single surgeon. (5/23)

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Laparoscopic treatment of intestinal intussusception in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome: case report and review of literature. (6/23)

A 47-year-old woman presented with an abdominal mass and nausea. Abdominal ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) showed a sausage-shaped mass with invagination. One polyp that appeared to exceed 3 cm was found in the sigmoid colon. Laparoscopy confirmed an intussusception mass, and the intussusception was dissected by hand-assisted laparoscopy (HALS). The sigmoid colon was also mobilized to the site of the small incision and resected. Generally, we believe enterectomy including polyps should be avoided as much as possible in Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) because poly-surgery may lead to short bowel syndrome. In addition, PJS patients often undergo multiple surgery, and therefore dense intra-abdominal adhesions are seen at subsequent laparotomy, which makes surgery increasingly difficult with repeated operations. Laparoscopic-assisted surgery seems beneficial, as in the present case.  (+info)

Comparison of robot-assisted nephrectomy with laparoscopic and hand-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy. (7/23)

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One hand is better than two: conversion from pure laparoscopic to the hand-assisted approach during difficult nephrectomy. (8/23)

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