The Health Alliance transplant program's 150th laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (LDN) for transplantation was successfully performed at The University Hospital. UC surgeons Joseph Buell, M.D., Michael Hanaway, M.D., and Manish Gupta, M.D., performed the laparoscopic procedure on the 48 year-old female donor. UC surgeons E. Steve Woodle, M.D., and Todd Merchen, M.D., performed the kidney implantation in the recipient. The donor and recipient, residents of Xenia, Ohio, are brother and sister. The kidney was a perfect match. Doctors report that both patients are doing well.
In a laparoscopic kidney donor transplantation procedure, four small incisions are made in the abdomen to remove the kidney. This is less invasive than an open kidney transplant, which involves a substantial incision from the navel to the back. "Laparoscopic kidney donor transplantation is a dramatic change from the past," says Dr. Buell. "Kidney donors experience much less pain and discomfort with the laparoscopic procedure, and they also have shorter hospital stays and return to work more quickly."
"Since 1998, our center has been performing 100 percent of the kidney donor transplants laparoscopically, one of only a few centers in the nation to do so," says Dr. Woodle, chief of transplantation surgery at UC. "Our last open donor surgery was performed two years ago." The national average for laparoscopic kidney transplantation is only 58 percent in comparison. In 2002, 45 laparoscopic kidney transplants were performed at The Christ Hospital; 29 were performed at The University Hospital by UC surgeons. Ninety-nine percent of Health Alliance patients are alive after a year with 99 percent function of their kidneys.
Locally, there are 146 patients on the waiting list for cadaver kidneys. These are patients who do not have family or friends who are matched for donation.
The Health Alliance offers the area's only kidney transplant program at Christ and University Hospitals. These two kidney transplant programs are two of only a few centers in the country to take the right kidney when it is preferable to do so.
UC and Christ Hospital surgeons performing the laparoscopic transplant procedure include: E. Steve Woodle, M.D., Joseph Buell, M.D. and Michael Hanaway, M.D., J. Wesley Alexander, M.D., Rino Munda, M.D., and James Fidler, M.D. The nephrology team includes: Michael Cardi, M.D., Ram Peddi, M.D., and Prabir Roy-Chaudhury, M.D.
The Health Alliance is an integrated health care delivery system that includes The Christ Hospital, The University Hospital, The St. Luke Hospitals, The Jewish Hospital, The Fort Hamilton Hospital and the physicians of Alliance Primary Care. To view other Health Alliance news releases, go to www.health-alliance.com/pressroom.
