Laparoscopic nephrectomy for emphysematous pyelonephritis

Abstract

Emphysematous pyelonephritis is a serious suppurative infection of the renal and extrarenal tissues. Controversies exist surrounding the appropriate management of this life-threatening condition with advocates for both medical management alone and percutaneous drainage combined with nephrectomy. The laparoscopic approach for nephrectomy is quickly becoming the standard of care for benign disease of the kidney and low-stage renal cancers. We report a case of a 60-year-old diabetic male undergoing successful laparoscopic nephrectomy for right emphysematous pyelonephritis, and our procedural technique. To our knowledge, this is the first report of laparoscopic nephrectomy in the setting of emphysematous pyelonephritis. Carefully selected patients with emphysematous pyelonephritis may benefit from the advantages of laparoscopic nephrectomy in centers with sufficient laparoscopic experience.