First Single-Port Laparoscopic Kidney Removal

The first laparoscopic nephrectomies performed with a single port access (SPA) technique have been completed successfully, leaving no visible scar.

The procedure was performed at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas, TX, USA), using RealHand High Dexterity (HD) instruments for minimally invasive surgery. The RealHand HD instruments are a full range of motion hand-held laparoscopic instruments, designed to mirror the surgeon's hand direction with the added benefit of tactile feedback. As such, when the surgeon's hand moves in one direction, the instrument tip exactly follows.

Unlike standard laparoscopic instrumentation, RealHand instruments offer a complete 7 degreees of freedom of movement with no need for additional hardware. The instruments are equipped with the proprietary EndoLink mechanism, which provides for greater dexterity and control around critical structures and vasculature by allowing wrist-like left/right and up/down movements inside the closed surgical field. The RealHand instruments, developed and manufactured by Novare Surgical Systems (Cupertino, CA, USA) have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"A laparoscopic approach already means a smaller incision, less pain and shorter recovery time for the patient,” said the surgeon who performed the procedure, Dr. Jeffrey Cadeddu, an associate professor of urology and radiology. "Now noticeable scarring has been removed as a side-effect from this type of procedure. We're showing surgeons can do a procedure using only one hole and that they can hide the hole in a cosmetically advantageous or less painful location. In trying to minimize the invasiveness of this surgery, the trauma was consolidated to a very small incision.”

The nephrectomy case follow previous announcements of gall bladder removals, total laparoscopic hysterectomies, and ovary removals performed utilizing the SPA technique, first developed at the Drexel University College of Medicine (Philadelphia, PA, USA).


Related Links:
University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center
Drexel University College of Medicine
Novare Surgical Systems