Purpose: The present study was designed to investigate the risk factors affecting the conversion to open surgery in retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy of nonfunctioning renal tuberculosis (TB).
Patients and methods: The records of 144 patients who underwent a retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy procedure by a single surgeon were retrospectively reviewed. The following factors, including age, sex, body mass index (BMI), diabetes status, hypertension status, side of kidney, size of kidney, degree of calcification, mild perirenal extravasation, contralateral hydronephrosis, the time of anti-TB, and surgeon experience were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used for statistical assessment.
Results: Twenty-three patients were converted to open surgery and the conversion rate was 15.97%. In univariate analysis, BMI ≥35 kg/m2 (p = 0.023), hypertension (p = 0.011), diabetes (p = 0.003), and kidney size (p = 0.032) were the main factors of conversion to open surgery. Sex, age, side, anti-TB time, calcification, mild extravasation, and surgeon experience were not significantly related. In multivariate regression analysis, BMI ≥35 kg/m2, hypertension, diabetes, and enlargement of kidney were the most important factors for conversion to open surgery.
Conclusions: Depending on the results achieved by a single surgeon, BMI ≥30 kg/m2, diabetes, hypertension, and enlargement of kidney significantly increased the conversion risk in retroperitoneal laparoscopic nephrectomy for nonfunctioning renal TB.
Keywords: conversion to open; nephrectomy; renal tuberculosis; retroperitoneal laparoscopic; risk factors.