Background and Purpose: When small ports are the only entry (and exit) points during laparoscopic nephrectomy, one is forced either to make an accommodating incision for final renal delivery or to perform renal morcellation. To date, morcellation has been performed in a blind manner with a specimen entrapped in a nonpenetrable, nonpermeable sac within the peritoneal cavity. Through the use of current laparoscopic equipment and a novel rotary shaver-blade system, we studied the safety, feasibility, and efficiency of directly observed renal morcellation.
Materials and Methods: Ten porcine renal units with a mean mass of 143 g (range 92–192 g) were morcellated via a custom 5.5-mm × 28-cm Dyonics® (Smith & Nephew, Andover, MA) rotary shaver blade placed through a standard operative laparoscope (ACMI LAP 11-56W). Each kidney was entrapped in a standard 8 × 10-inch LapSac® (Cook Urological, Spencer, Indiana), which was placed in a preconfigured abdomen model. Morcellation was performed under direct visual guidance with continuous-flow irrigation and suction. We then studied the feasibility, safety, technical ease, and efficiency of morcellation; the size of the fragments; and entrapment-bag integrity with each renal morcellation.
Results: The mean time required to complete morcellation was 8:02 minutes (range 4:45–14:00 minutes). The morcellation efficiency mean was 20.7 g/min (range 12.00–31.41 g/min), with the Dyonics EP-1® generator system morcellating most effectively at 2000 rpm in its oscillate mode. Of ten random fragments, the mean size was 8.7 × 4.7 mm. The integrity of one LapSac® was lost when the bag was not filled to complete distention, creating susceptible in folding.
Conclusion: This novel technique of laparoscopic renal delivery provides a feasible, safe, technically simple, and efficient means of morcellation. Directly viewed renal morcellation must occur with a kidney freely floating within a completely distended entrapment sac in order to preserve the integrity of the sac itself. Tissue fragments are large enough for pathologic review, which may permit superior oncologic surgical margins.
