Laparoscopic heminephrectomy in a horseshoe kidney affected by xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis: A modified approach

Abstract Horseshoe kidney (HSK) is a common congenital kidney anomaly that is encountered frequently by urologists. It is rare for HSK to be affected by xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis (XGP), a potentially life-threatening condition. The standard of care for XGP is open nephrectomy, but recently a few case reports have been published showing the feasibility of minimally invasive surgery to deal with XGP. We present a case of HSK affected by XGP treated successfully with modified laparoscopic transperitoneal heminephrectomy. The rarity of such a combination, the modified approach, and the successful outcome encouraged us to report it.