During Donor Surgery
Once you've been prepared for surgery, you'll
be taken to the operating room. You'll receive
anesthesia through the IV line, and you'll quickly
fall asleep. Once you're asleep, a catheter --
a small, flexible tube that catches urine so
that it can be checked and measured -- will be
inserted into your bladder.
The operation (called donor nephrectomy) will
take three to four hours and will be performed
in one of two ways. Laparoscopic sugery is performed
through three small holes underneath the rib
cage. The surgical instruments and the laparoscope
(a long, slender optical instrument containing
a miniature camera) are placed through these
holes, and the surgeon removes the kidney through
a 2- or 3-inch lower abdominal incision.
If scarring
from previous surgery or extra blood vessels
supplying the kidneys prohibit laparoscopy, the
surgeon will perform an open donor nephrectomy
through a 10-inch incision below the lowest
rib on either the left or right side. Blood
transfusions are almost never needed.
After your surgery is complete, the transplant
surgeon will meet with your family to give them
information about the procedure. The kidney recipient's
surgery will be done almost simultaneously with
the donor's operation.
Reviewed by Robert
Grossman, MD
Last updated January 2007
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