Ex-vivo renal surgery and auto-transplantation for benign and malignant renal pathologies: our early evolving experience of three cases

Objectives: We describe our experience of ex-vivo renal surgery and autotransplantation for complex renal pathologies. These cases were carried out in the urology and transplant departments between July 2015 and January 2016. Materials and methods: Case 1 was a 63-year-old man presenting with spontaneous bleed from a renal mass in a solitary functional right kidney. Case 2 was a 50-year-old man with bilateral renal tumours involving renal veins. Case 3 was a 50-year-old man with two previous failed right-sided pyeloplasties. Results: No intraoperative complications were encountered. Case 1 underwent laparoscopic nephrectomy, ex-vivo partial nephrectomy followed by autotransplantation. There was no disease recurrence after 6 months' follow-up, with stable renal functions. Case 2 had bilateral open radical nephrectomies performed. On the right autotransplantation was performed after ex-vivo partial nephrectomy. On the left, a further procedure was abandoned after radical nephrectomy due to extensive disease involvement. Postoperatively, the patient became anuric with poor Doppler signals. Exploration suggested complete renal vein obstruction with infarction of the autotransplanted right kidney requiring nephrectomy. Disease recurrence at the native renal bed was found at 6 months' follow-up. Case 3 had laparoscopic nephrectomy, ex-vivo pyeloplasty and autotransplantation was performed. At 12 months' follow-up, the patient was asymptomatic with stable renal functions. Conclusions: Ex-vivo renal surgery is a viable option for complex renal conditions. However, appropriate patient selection is essential to achieve good outcomes.