Vietnam performs 1st dual kidney removal, transplant surgery

The patient, a 53-year-old man suffering from polycystic kidney and liver disease, had severely enlarged kidneys that caused abdominal distension and compression of internal organs.

After a rigorous evaluation and screening process, both the living donor and the recipient were deemed medically eligible for kidney transplantation.

The complex operation lasted more than three hours and involved multiple transplant specialists.

The urology and nephrology surgery team, led by Associate Professor Pham Ngoc Hung, head of the hospital's urology department, removed both polycystic kidneys weighing nearly 10 kilograms in total while preserving the adrenal glands.

Blood loss during the procedure was estimated at about 100 milliliters, and no transfusion was required.

At the same time, a living donor kidney was prepared.

Cardiothoracic and anesthesiology teams coordinated to connect blood vessels and attach the ureter to the bladder.

Warm ischemia time was kept to five minutes and cold ischemia time to 25 minutes.

The transplanted kidney immediately showed good blood flow and began producing urine on the operating table.

Following surgery, the patient's condition improved rapidly.

Within 48 hours, kidney function showed clear recovery, vital signs stabilized, and no blood transfusion was needed during or after the operation.

After one week, the patient resumed near-normal activities and was discharged after two weeks.

Associate Professor Hung confirmed that this was the first dual nephrectomy combined with kidney transplantation performed in Vietnam.

Globally, only two medical centers have successfully carried out such a complex procedure, he claimed.

Professor Pham Nhu Hiep, director of Hue Central Hospital, said the surgery marks a major milestone for Vietnamese medicine in organ transplantation and realizes the hospital's strategy to advance highly specialized transplant techniques.