BY TIM BONFIELD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Thanks to a new way of doing kidney-transplant surgery, David Wilmore expects to return to work within two weeks instead of two months after donating a kidney to his sister, Jill Reffner.
The procedure, called a laparoscopic transplant, was started in Baltimore about two years ago by Johns Hopkins Medical Center and the University of Maryland Medical Center. Surgeons at University Hospital in Cincinnati performed their first such surgery last week.
Instead of making a 12- to 18-inch cut around the donor's torso to remove the kidney, surgeons make four small holes (for various surgical tools and a small video camera) to disconnect the organ. The kidney itself is pulled out through a three-inch incision, then implanted in the recipient in a more traditional procedure. The old way required about two months of recovery time for donors with physical jobs and about one month for donors with desk jobs. The new way cuts those times to two weeks or less, said Dr. James Whiting, transplant surgeon at University Hospital.
Mr. Wilmore, 54, is a resident of Fletcher, Ohio. Mrs. Reffner, 56, lives in Hillsboro. After the transplant surgery Wednesday, both were discharged Saturday. They returned Tuesday for follow-up exams.
Relatives who can donate a kidney rarely refuse to do it strictly because recovery takes so long. Still, doctors predict the easier donation procedure might increase the number of donors.
An easier procedure may make parents less resistant to accepting a kidney from their children, Dr. Whiting said. With less potential impact on careers and family life, close family friends also may be more willing to become donors, assuming a close match can be found.
