Pushing the Envelope: Laparoscopic Nephrectomy as Outpatient Surgery

Purpose of Review: The purposes of this review were to identify the possible limiting factors prohibiting laparoscopic nephrectomy being performed as an outpatient surgery and optimize these limiting factors. Recent Findings: Laparoscopic nephrectomy for patients who have kidney cancer can be performed as an outpatient surgery in well-selected, well-educated, and well-informed patients in a well-prepared hospital culture. Summary: Patient confidence, pain, and hospital culture are the most important limiting factors to the performance of laparoscopic nephrectomy as an outpatient procedure. Controlling these factors leads to a high success rate for the outpatient procedure.