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Background: The incidence of morbidity and readmission rate after hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (HALDN) is not clear. Aims: Our study aims to review our experience with HALDN, mainly the reasons for patient readmissions. Methods: Prospectively collected data on all patients undergoing HALDNs between August 2007 and June 2015 were retrieved. The primary outcome was 30-day readmission rate. Secondary outcomes were complications and readmission etiology. Results: There were 161 nephrectomies with a median age of 51 years, 72 (44.7%) men, and 114 (70.8%) left-sided operations. Twenty-one (13%) individuals were readmitted within 30 days. There were total 25 (15.5%) readmissions during the study period. The characteristics of patients readmitted and patients not readmitted were broadly similar. Nine of 21 (43%) individuals readmitted had nonspecific findings (nonspecific findings on imaging, negative blood cultures, and raised inflammatory markers). The reasons for readmission were unrelated to nephrectomy in 24% and 19% required surgery for complications unrelated to nephrectomy. Conclusion: We observed a high readmission rate after HALDN. A significant proportion of readmissions were due to nonspecific abdominal pain associated with raised inflammatory markers and no obvious source of sepsis. Living donors should be fully informed about the risks including the possibility of complications unrelated to HALDN.

We assessed the effect of recipient body mass index (BMI) on the outcomes of renal transplantation and the management of obese patients with end-stage renal disease across the UK. We analyzed data of 25539 adult renal transplants (2007–2016) from the UK Transplant Registry. Patients were divided in BMI groups [underweight

Objective: Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a rare and particularly aggressive type of thyroid cancer of neuroendocrine origin. It occurs in hereditary and sporadic forms and its aggressiveness is related to the clinical presentation and the type of RET mutation. Methods: In this article, we present the criteria, as reviewed in contemporary literature, regarding lymph node dissection and radical neck dissection in patients with either sporadic or hereditary MTC. Results: Early diagnosis and treatment remains the key to a 100% cure rate. Conclusions: Routine central lymph node dissection is the minimum procedure recommended for all sporadic and hereditary MTCs. Routine lateral lymph node dissection on either side is necessary when lymph node metastases are found in the central neck compartment.