Robotic Versus Laparoscopic Living Donor Nephrectomy: A Prospective Study

Robotic Versus Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy: A Retrospective Bicentric Comparison of Learning Curves and Surgical Outcomes From 2 High-volume European Centers

“…Compared with LDN, the diffusion of RDN was partially impaired by its higher costs 10,11 and the relatively limited advantages compared with traditional laparoscopy 12,13 : in fact, there is no clear evidence of any clinical benefit of robotic over the laparoscopic approach to living kidney donation from the current literature.…”

“…Another pivotal technical evolution was provided a few years later, in 2001, with the application of the DaVinci technology to living kidney donation and the development of robotic donor nephrectomy (RDN) from the Chicago group. 7,8 Similar to LDN, the robotic approach was extensively used around the world with several technical variations, 9 but its higher costs 10,11 and the relatively similar results of RDN compared with LDN 12,13 partially limited its diffusion. Although RDN might offer several advantages compared with LDN, such as the usage of EndoWrist instruments that facilitate suturing and knotting, stable 3-dimensional visualization of the operative field, and higher surgeon comfort, 14 such benefits are difficult to measure objectively and rely on surgeons' feedback.…”

“…Only a few articles focused on the comparison of these 2 approaches to living donor nephrectomy, but current evidence is limited by small sample size. 10,12,13,[15][16][17] In this retrospective bicentric study, we sought to compare the results of LDN and RDN performed in 2 high-volume European transplant centers, focusing on patient selection, learning curves, and postoperative outcomes of the 2 techniques.…”