Laparoscopic nephrectomy feasible as outpatient surgery

(HealthDay)—Laparoscopic nephrectomy can be safely performed as outpatient surgery in select patients, according to a study published in the June issue of The Journal of Urology.

Nessn H. Azawi, from the University of Southern in Odense, Denmark, and colleagues conducted a prospective, multicenter descriptive study involving 50 patients (70 percent males) with renal cancer. The authors examined the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic nephrectomy as outpatient surgery, with postoperative follow-up at 30 days.

The researchers found that 92 percent of the patients (46 patients) were discharged home within the first six hours after surgery. Four of the patients could not be discharged as a result of wrong medication, fatigue, and intestinal injury in two, one, and one patient, respectively. There was no readmission among the 46 patients discharged early. Antibiotic treatment achieved good results without rehospitalization for two patients with wound infection.

"Laparoscopic nephrectomy may be performed as outpatient surgery in carefully selected patients who meet inclusion criteria, representing greater than 40 percent of candidates for the surgery," the authors write. "Our study demonstrates that outpatient nephrectomy may be done safely and does not require hospital readmission."

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