PARTIAL NEPHRECTOMY
Removal of a tumor from a kidney (robotic assisted partial nephrectomy)
Open surgeries and minimally invasive surgeries are both possible in the treatment of kidney cancer. The whole kidney has to be removed in the case of larger tumors, whereas in the case of smaller tumors an effort is made to only perform so-called conserving surgery, i.e. to only remove the part affected by a tumor. A physician chooses the type of surgery mainly based on the size and location of the tumor. Robotic surgery, thanks to its good imaging of tissues and accuracy of movements, enables the removal of a tumor with only a small amount of healthy kidney and enables the surgeon to save as much of the adjacent healthy kidney tissue as possible.
Typical hospital stay procedure
Patients are usually admitted to the Urology Clinic one day before surgery. Before the surgery they are administered a glycerine suppository for bowel movement. Food, drink and cigarettes are prohibited from midnight before the surgery. Patients lock their belongings in a personal locker on the day of the surgery. Diazepam („premedication“) is usually administered before patients leave the ward during the preparation for anesthesia. Patients are transported to the operating theatre by a nurse and handed over to an anesthesiologist. They have a brief check / interview which is followed by the administration of anesthesia. After the surgery, patients are either transported to the sleep-in room for about 2 hours in order to fully wake up and be regularly checked, or they are monitored in the ICU for one day. They are then transferred to their beds in the Urology Clinic. A urinary catheter is inserted in the urethra during the surgery and removed 1 or 2 days after the surgery. A drain is inserted in the abdominal cavity for 1-3 days. There are usually 4 small scars on the abdomen after the surgery. Patients are discharged from the hospital on the 4th or 5th day, free from any „tubes“. It is necessary to understand that part of a kidney, an organ amply supplied with blood, has been removed. To eliminate any injury, a strict regimen of no exercise must be adhered to for at least one month after the surgery – no lifting of heavy objects (shopping, moving, etc.). However, regular walking is recommended.