Doctors Can Now Remove Intact Kidney Through Belly Button

With continuing advances in laparoscopic procedures has come the first ever laparoscopic surgery to completely remove an intact kidney entirely through the belly button. The successful procedure was performed at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and announced in a press release on Aug 23.

According to the Stanford Cancer Center, the traditional procedure to remove a kidney requires large incisions (8 to 10 inches, from the middle of the abdomen to the back), with lengthy hospitalization and recovery. Although laparoscopic kidney surgery isn't new, the removal of an intact kidney via a laparoscopic procedure has not been previously done.

Most people have two kidneys, each about the size of an adult fist. Tumors and kidney cancer are the usual reasons kidneys are surgically removed.

The major advantage of laparoscopic kidney surgery is that what could once be done only with large incisions can now be done with a few small incisions about the size of a dime. Pain is reduced, there is little scarring, and hospital stays and recovery times are much shorter. Stanford also notes that laparoscopic images on the monitor are magnified, which allows the surgeon to see tissues in much greater detail than can be seen in traditional surgery with an open incision.

Dr. Jeffrey Cadeddu is an associate professor of urology and radiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center and leads the Clinical Center for Minimally Invasive Treatment of Urologic Cancer. He performed the procedure, called a nephrectomy, in what is termed "single keyhole access" surgery. This means the entire procedure involved just one incision, leaving a hardly noticeable scar in the navel.

Dr. Cadeddu said: "We are proud of this novel surgical technique. Laparoscopic surgery already gives patients smaller incisions, less pain and a faster recovery. This transumbilical technique is a further extension of laparoscopic surgery, which essentially removes scarring from the patient's skin."