The clinical use of CO2 laser beam in the surgery of kidney parenchyma.

Encouraged by the experimental work done on 40 kidneys in 20 dogs using the CO2 laser beam for partial nephrectomies, we decided to use the laser in four patients. Three of them underwent lower partial nephrectomy, and the fourth underwent bivalving of kidney through the anatrophic line. The use of this new instrument was very helpful in reducing blood loss, shortening the time of hemostasis, and minimizing parenchymal damage. Case No. 1 is the first published case of xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis that underwent partial nephrectomy with success.