Preliminary experience of robotic-assisted kidney transplantation in a single center

  Objective  To evaluate the safety, effectiveness and feasibility of robotic-assisted kidney transplantation (RAKT).

  Methods  Clinical data of 16 patients who underwent kidney transplantation were collected. Among them, 8 recipients received RAKT (RAKT group) and 8 cases underwent open kidney transplantation (OKT) with the contralateral kidney from the same donor (OKT group). Perioperative status and the recovery of renal allograft function were compared between two groups.

  Results  All patients successfully completed the surgery. In the RAKT group, no patient was converted to open surgery. The operation time in the RAKT group was longer than that in the OKT group (P=0.015). No significant differences were observed in the serum creatinine levels before surgery and upon discharge between two groups (both P>0.05). In the OKT group, one recipient developed delayed graft function (DGF), and the remaining recipients did not experience perioperative complications. No significant difference was noted in the short-term recovery of renal allograft function between two groups (P>0.05).

  Conclusions  Postoperative recovery of the recipients in the RAKT group is equivalent to that of their counterparts in the OKT group. RAKT is a safe and effective procedure for the team expertise in kidney transplantation.