Study examines changes in anemia treatment for people with kidney disease
August 5, 2026
Study finds increased risk of scrotal swelling after laparoscopic kidney donation surgery
A recent study found that male kidney donors who undergo laparoscopic surgery to remove a kidney may be at increased risk of developing hydrocele, which is a fluid-filled sac inside the scrotum that causes swelling around the testicles. The findings were published in the Canadian Journal of Kidney Health and Disease.
Previous studies have shown that some men who donate a kidney experience testicular pain, swelling, or hydrocele after surgery.
Dr. Amit Garg, a researcher at the London Health Sciences Centre in Ontario, and his colleagues previously conducted a study using data from Ontario health records and found that male kidney donors developed hydrocele at higher rates than men who had not donated a kidney. In this latest study, they analyzed similar health data from Alberta to see whether the findings held true in a different population.
The researchers compared 115 male kidney donors who underwent laparoscopic kidney removal with 1,150 matched men who had not donated a kidney to determine whether donors were more likely to develop hydrocele.
They found that the kidney donors were more likely than the non-donors to require surgery for a hydrocele. Within 15 years, 4.5% of donors had undergone hydrocele surgery, compared with 0.2% of non-donors. The donors were also more likely to have a scrotal ultrasound: within 15 years, 21% had undergone the imaging test, compared with 11% of non-donors.
The researchers note that this increased risk of hydrocele is seen mainly in male kidney donors who undergo laparoscopic kidney donation, which uses several small incisions and an inserted camera to remove the kidney. In contrast, donors who undergo open surgery, which involves one larger incision, appear to be less likely to develop hydrocele.
The authors note that living kidney donation remains an important way to help people with kidney failure. They say people considering kidney donation should be informed about the risk of hydrocele as part of the decision-making process, and that more research is needed to better understand why it occurs more often after laparoscopic surgery and whether different surgical techniques could reduce the risk.
