ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Transpl. Int.
Living-Donor Kidney Transplantation: Comparison of Robotic-Assisted Versus Conventional Open Technique
- MM
Mireia Musquera 1,2
- TP
Thomas PRUDHOMME 1
- TA
Tarek Ajami 1
- CM
Carmen Martínez 1
- EC
Enric Carbonell 1
- MM
Maria Munni 1
- ML
Maria Leon 1
- BL
Byron López De Mesa Rodriguez 1
- IR
Ingrid Roca 1
- AV
Antoni Vilaseca 1,2
- MJ
Maria José Ribal 1,2
- NS
Natalia Segura 1
- FD
Fritz Diekmann 1
- IR
Ignacio Revuelta 1
- BT
Beatriz Tena 1,2
- CM
Conchita Monsalve 1
- LP
Lluís Peri 1
- AA
Antonio Alcaraz 1,2
1. Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
2. Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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Abstract
Purpose: To compare intraoperative, postoperative and functional outcomes of patients undergoing living donor RAKT versus OKT. Methods: A retrospective analysis of all living donor's kidney transplantation performed in a tertiary center between 2013 and 2024 comparing RAKT with OKT was performed. All recipients in the OKT group were eligible for a RAKT. Results: A total of 400 patients (200 RAKT and 200 OKT) were included. Recipients were younger in the RAKT cohort (48.0 versus 51.5 years, p=0.045). Median operative time was significantly longer in the RAKT group (185.5 versus 120.0 min, p<0.0001). Intraoperative complications rate was similar in both study group. A significantly higher proportion of recipients receiving OKT undergone post-operative surgical complications (p<0.0001) and major post-operative complications (8.0% versus 19.5%, p=0.001). Seven patients required graft nephrectomy during the early postoperative period (of whom all were in the RAKT group). Median length of hospitalization was significantly longer in the OKT group (7.0 versus 9.0 days, p<0.0001). 1-, 3-and 5-years patient and graft survival were comparable between the RAKT and OKT cohorts. The postoperative opioid requirement was not evaluated. Conclusions: Our analysis confirms the safety and efficacy of RAKT in the setting of living donors, in comparison to conventional OKT.
Summary
Keywords
delayed graft function, Surgical complications, living donor kidney transplantation, robotic-assisted kidney transplantation, Open kidney transplantation
Received
25 May 2025
Accepted
03 November 2025
Copyright
© 2025 Musquera, PRUDHOMME, Ajami, Martínez, Carbonell, Munni, Leon, López De Mesa Rodriguez, Roca, Vilaseca, Ribal, Segura, Diekmann, Revuelta, Tena, Monsalve, Peri and Alcaraz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Thomas PRUDHOMME, prudhomme-thomas@hotmail.fr
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