Robot-assisted vs hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy in the United Kingdom: Equivalent outcomes in the first national series.

BACKGROUND: Living donor kidney transplantation is the optimal method of long-term renal replacement therapy. Minimally invasive donor nephrectomy techniques, such as robot-assisted (RALDN) and hand-assisted (HALDN) laparoscopic procedures, are well-established in high-income countries and are being increasingly adopted worldwide. Nevertheless, no studies have reported surgical outcomes of RALDN donor nephrectomy from a United Kingdom center to date. AIM: To compare surgical outcomes between RALDN and HALDN laparoscopic donor nephrectomy in a United Kingdom high-volume living kidney donor transplant program. METHODS: A case-control matching analysis was performed based on the following parameters: Sex, age, body mass index, procedure laterality, number of renal arteries, and previous abdominal surgeries. Key surgical outcomes, including primary warm ischemia time, operative duration, and post-operative recovery, were evaluated. RESULTS: In this cohort of 140 living donors (70 RALDN vs 70 HALDN), donor and recipient outcomes were equivalent across key metrics: Pain scores, overall complication rates, readmissions, reoperations, and creatinine levels at 30 days and 1 year. Recipient long-term renal function did not differ between groups. Operative time for RALDN decreased significantly over the study period, indicating progressive improvement along the learning curve. Although RALDN was associated with a modestly longer mean warm ischaemia time (3.53 minutes vs 2.76 minutes, P < 0.001) and extended hospital stay (4.21 days vs 3.17 days, P < 0.001), these did not translate into any disadvantage in clinical outcomes. CONCLUSION: In this first United Kingdom comparative cohort, RALDN demonstrated excellent safety and efficacy, even in the early phase of our programme, matching the outcomes of the well-established, gold-standard HALDN approach. Moreover, the pronounced learning-curve trajectory suggests considerable potential for further improvements in robotic surgical outcomes as the programme matures.