Panama Medical Vacations
Regaining Your Health with a Laparoscopic Nephrectomy in Panama
A laparoscopic nephrectomy is the surgical removal of a kidney, the organ that filters waste from the blood and produces urine. There are two kidneys, right and left. Each kidney is about 4 inches to 5 inches long. They are located at the back of the abdomen, just below the diaphragm, behind the liver on the right, and the spleen on the left. A portion of each kidney is protected by the lowest one or two ribs and by the muscles that cover the back and side of the body. Depending on the reason for a nephrectomy, all or part of one kidney or both kidneys will be removed. For a procedure like this, you need expert care and you will receive that level of care at Hospital Punta Pacifica, Affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medicine International.
The Procedure
The medical team inserts an intravenous line into one of your veins to deliver fluids and medications. You will receive general anesthesia. A laparoscope and small surgical instruments are inserted into your abdomen through four small incisions. The surgeon uses a tiny camera on the laparoscope to guide the surgical instruments to detach your kidney from connecting blood vessels and your ureter. Toward the end of the procedure, the incision located just below the navel is enlarged to allow the kidney to be lifted out of your body. Using surgical instruments, the surgeon maneuvers the edges of a soft sling underneath your kidney. By pulling on the edges of this sling, the surgeon can lift the kidney out through the incision. At the end of the procedure, the abdominal incisions are closed with sutures or surgical tape.
After your surgery
Although your nephrectomy will be performed as a laparoscopic procedure, you will likely be kept in the hospital for several days, especially if both kidneys are removed because you will need to be started on dialysis. The good news is that since your procedure was laparoscopic, your recovery time will be rapid; you will be up walking the same day and able to resume light activities in a couple of weeks.
Risks
For such a complex surgery, a laparoscopic nephrectomy is a relatively safe procedure. Some of the associated risks are:
- Injury to neighboring organs, such as the intestines, liver, spleen and pancreas
- Hemorrhage(bleeding), either inside the abdomen or from the surgical wound
- An accidental cut or puncture into the chest cavity, causing a collapsed lung
- A temporary decrease in lung function immediately after surgery
- Wound infection
- Temporary decrease in kidney function if only one kidney was removed
- Injury to nerves near the site of the incision
- A hernia (bulge of bowel) causing a lump under the incision scar