Laparoscopic assisted colectomies in kidney transplant recipients with colon cancer

Background: Kidney transplant recipients have increased operative risks for major abdominal surgery. The purpose of this study is to present the results of laparoscopic assisted colectomies (LAC) in patients who have received a kidney transplant, and evaluate the difficulty and potential benefits or hazards inherent in this approach. Patients and Methods: From September 1993 to March 2003, 820 patients underwent LAC in our service. We studied all patients with kidney transplant and LAC. Results: Three kidney transplantation recipients were included. Two patients were female and one male. The mean age was 65 years (range, 54-73 years). The average time elapsed since transplantation was 8 years (range, 6-10 years), and no patient had experienced problems with rejection. All patients had colon cancer. All of the allografts were contralateral to the side of the colon resection. The mean operative time was 103 minutes (range, 100-105 minutes). There were into complications, renal function remained intact, and there was no need to stop immunosuppression. The average length of hospital stay was 5 days (range, 4-7 days). The mean followup time has been 17 months (range, 3-40 months). Since surgery there have been no episodes of rejection and the patients have been free of cancer. Conclusion: The benefits of minimal access surgery seem to be shared by kidney transplant recipients. A key feature may be to avoid stopping immunosuppression perioperatively, therefore lowering the potential risk of rejection. Also, lessening the number of wound-related problems appears important for these patients. LAC in experienced hands must be considered a safe alternative for elective colon resections in highly selected patients with kidney transplants.