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Coming to Panama for a Radical Nephrectomy

A radical nephrectomy is a procedure to remove cancer in and around one of your kidneys. The surgeon removes the kidney, ureter (the tube connecting the kidney to the bladder), and surrounding connective tissue, lymph nodes, and adrenal gland.

The Procedure

You will be given a general anesthetic. The surgeon will make a cut either in the front or on the side of your abdomen. Rarely, for some large tumors, the cut may extend into the lower part of the chest. The surgeon separates the kidney from surrounding organs and locates its main artery and vein, as well as the ureter. Then the surgeon removes the kidney and the tumor and ties off the vein, artery, and ureter. The surgeon also removes surrounding tissue and the adrenal gland and lymph nodes. The surgeon may also make the cut longer or make a second cut over your bladder to remove the ureter. The surgeon will remove the ureter down to the bladder and close the cut.

After your surgery

You may stay in the hospital for about 4 to 7 days. A catheter remains in your bladder for about a week to allow urine to drain and relieve the pressure. You may have a tube in your chest for 1 to 4 days if part of your incision is in the chest. During the first 2 weeks after the operation, you will be encouraged to do light activity, such as walking but you must avoid all heavy activity for the first 6 weeks, including lifting. After that time, you may gradually do heavier work according to your surgeon’s instructions.

Risks

Some of the possible risks associated with this surgery are:

• There are some risks when you have general anesthesia.
• The pancreas may be injured during this operation.
• The nerves in the area of the incision may be damaged either by pressure or by being cut. This could cause the side of your abdomen to sag.
• You could (temporarily or permanently) lose the feeling in the area around the incision.
• Urine may leak from the cut made in the bladder.
• The surgeon may not be able to remove all of the cancer or the cancer may come back.
• You may have infection or bleeding.