Keyhole' Surgery: An Innovative Boon For Live Kidney Donors
title:'Keyhole' Surgery: An Innovative Boon For Live Kidney Donors author:News Canada source_url:http://www.articlecity.com/articles/health/article_251.shtml date_saved:2007-07-25 12:30:10 category:health article: (NC)-Each year, a growing number of Canadians make the heartfelt decision to give one of their kidneys to a relative or friend in need. While this life-saving gesture is a blessing for the recipient, it can pose challenges on a number of levels for the donor. The standard practice for removing a kidney is to make a 20- to 30- centimetre incision across the side of the body, go through two to three layers of muscle and remove 10 centimetres of rib. With incurred scarring and several months of subsequent inactivity, the decision to be a donor is understandably daunting for many. Yet thanks to an innovative medical procedure called laparoscopic or "keyhole" surgery, painful incisions and long recovery periods may soon be a thing of the past. "Compared to t...