| Often a laparoscope will be used to perform | | | | In a study carried out by Dr Andrew J Portis and |
| kidney surgery on a patient as it is thought to | | | | his colleagues on 133 patients suffering from |
| cause them less shorten and shortens the time it | | | | kidney cancer and who had surgery (entire kidney |
| takes for them to recover (although this may not | | | | tumor was removed along with any remaining |
| be true for people who have kidney cancer). | | | | normal kidney) to January 1996 he found that the |
| A laparoscopy allows the surgeon to perform an | | | | 64 who were treated using the laparoscopic |
| operation by inserting a device with a camera | | | | technique loss less blood, spent less time in |
| attached through a small opening in the patients | | | | hospital but it took the surgeons longer to do the |
| body. Research has been carried out at 4 | | | | operation. The other 69 patients were treated |
| different hospitals around the world to compare | | | | using open surgery. |
| laparoscopy surgery against the usual "open | | | | Also it was found that there was not difference in |
| surgery" for people diagnosed with Kidney Cancer. | | | | the number of patients that survived in the two |
| According to a study in the Journal of Urology the | | | | groups and they both had the same rate of local |
| two procedures produced the same results. | | | | recurrence of the cancer that they were |
| It was find that those patients who had their | | | | suffering from. |
| kidney cancer removed using a laparoscope | | | | When looking at the results of the study they |
| usually did better than those who had open | | | | based them on four standards so had four ways |
| surgery. It was found that they loss less blood, | | | | in which to compare the two procedures against |
| spent less time in hospital and so were out of | | | | each other. |
| work for less time as well. | | | | In fact the evidence shows that the patients |
| Unfortunately, although this procedure may be | | | | whose kidney cancer was removed by use of |
| better for the patient they are much more | | | | the laparoscope method did just as well as those |
| complex and time consuming for the doctor. In | | | | who had been treated using open surgery. |
| fact it can take doctor's many years to decide | | | | Certainly things may well improve with this kind of |
| whether a new treatment will achieve the same | | | | kidney surgery as the doctors learn more about |
| results as the more standard types of surgery | | | | how to use the equipment correctly and so their |
| available and that have been performed for many | | | | skills improve. |
| years. | | | | |