Cleveland Clinic taking kidneys through navel

Next Politics & Policy Article CLEVELAND (AP) - Brad Kaster donated a kidney to his father this week, and he barely has a scar to show for it. The kidney was removed through a single incision in his bellybutton, a surgical procedure Cleveland Clinic doctors say will reduce recovery time and leave almost no scarring. "The actual incision point on me is so tiny I'm not getting any pain from it," Kaster, 29, said Wednesday. "I can't even see it." Kaster was the 10th donor to undergo the procedure at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Inderbir S. Gill and colleagues at the research hospital on Thursday were to perform the 11th such procedure, which Gill said could make kidney donations more palatable by sharply reducing recovery time. More than 80,000 Americans are awaiting kidney transplants. Last year, there were about 13,300 kidney... [read full story]