Feasibility of Transvaginal Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery–Assisted Living Donor Nephrectomy: Is Kidney Vaginal Delivery the Approach of the Future?

BackgroundNatural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) uses natural orifices to access the abdominal cavity. We adapted NOTES to perform transvaginal NOTES-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy in living donors.ObjectiveTo assess the feasibility and reproducibility of this procedure and compare it with conventional laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy (LLDN).Design, setting, and participantsFrom July 2009 to October 2010, 20 women underwent transvaginal NOTES-assisted living donor nephrectomy (LDN) in our centre. We compared the prospectively collected clinical data of each donor with those of a contemporaneous matched pair of conventional LLDNs (40 donors).Surgical procedureThe procedure was performed using three abdominal trocars and one trocar through the vaginal wall.MeasurementsVariables evaluated for donors were procedure length, blood loss, warm ischaemia time (WIT), complications, hospital stay, and first-month creatinine nadir. In the transvaginal LDN group, sexual function was assessed with the Female Sexual Function Index questionnaire before and after surgery. Variables evaluated for recipients were complications, graft function, and creatinine evolution.Results and limitationsThe procedure was completed in all cases. Operative variables were similar for both groups except for WIT, which was longer in the transvaginal LDN group (p < 0.001) without consequences for graft functioning. One transvaginal LDN case had postoperative bleeding requiring immediate open surgery. All transvaginal LDN donors reported unaltered sexual function after surgery and satisfaction with the results. All recipients had immediate urine output, and all had a functioning graft at last follow-up except for one recipient of the transvaginal LDN group who required transplantectomy. Despite promising results, randomised controlled studies with longer follow-up are warranted to further elucidate the potential of this novel technique.ConclusionsTransvaginal NOTES-assisted LDN appears to be a feasible and reproducible surgical technique. The WIT was longer in the transvaginal group, and there was no effect on graft function after the short follow-up.