Percutaneous Resection of the Kidney: Preliminary Report*

Abstract

Percutaneous renal surgery has become the preferred method for many urologic procedures through years of innovation and experimentation. The concept of percutaneous resection of the kidney, although new, is based on the idea that access to the kidney no longer requires an open approach and is a natural progression from the idea of endoscopic resection of prostatic tissue. To test the feasibility of this technique, we percutaneously resected the kidneys of a 20-pound male pig by suctioning the parenchymal tissue with a percutaneous aspirator and collecting it for examination. Almost all tissue was removed, leaving only the renal pedicle. More experimentation will be required before this method can be used clinically, but the groundwork for further study has been established.