Laparoscopy-induced severe renal failure after appendectomy

Abstract

Laparoscopy has gained importance in the abdominal emergency surgery field. Acute appendicitis is one of the major indications for emergency surgery, being laparoscopy the gold standard approach. We report a case of a 39-years-old female presenting with acute kidney injury (AKI) after laparoscopy. Differential diagnosis was considered with prerenal AKI etiology due to sepsis and low fluid input, however this was ruled out due to absence of electrolyte imbalance and no correlation with septic parameters. Laparoscopy CO₂ pneumoperitoneum can potentially lead to multiple organ failure, including renal. Laparoscopy induced AKI is related with both hormonal stimuli for renal vasoconstriction and increased intra-abdominal pressure, causing hypoxemia and tubular renal injury. In conclusion, very few cases of laparoscopy induced AKI in young patients with no previous renal disease have been reported. Surgeons must consider this complication in the differential diagnosis of postoperative AKI.