Family, friends and altruistic donors willing to donate a kidney now have a less invasive surgical option called the single-port trans-umbilical live donor nephrectomy. The procedure entails removing a kidney through the belly button and has resulted in excellent kidney function in the recipient. This new alternative could benefit many of the patients currently in need of a kidney.

Unlike most traditional laparoscopic procedures that entail making four to six small key-hole incisions in the abdomen, surgeons can now remove the kidney in living donors through a single incision concealed within the belly button. Outcomes from initial cases show patients experience less pain, quicker recovery and very minimal scarring.

This article originally appeared in the August 2008 issue of Kidney Transplant Today.