Best Doctors 2010: A kinder kidney removal surgery

Even minimally invasive kidney removal has usually meant several small cuts. But new technology is enabling surgeons to access and remove kidneys through a single incision. Dr. Jonathan Ross, chief of pediatric urology at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, is pioneering single-site laparoscopic kidney removal in children though it is sometimes used in adults. The technique, during which surgeons make a 2-centimeter cut near the belly button so instruments can go in and the organs can come out, has cosmetic advantages. “There’s also some risk every time you put another device in,” Ross says. “It’s really taking laparoscopy another step.”