Types of nephrectomies
There are several types of nephrectomies. Your surgeon will discuss the best option for you based on your individual case and overall health.
In a partial nephrectomy, only the diseased or injured part of the kidney is removed. If the diagnosis is kidney cancer, surgeons may remove the tissue around a tumor as well. A partial nephrectomy is also called kidney- or nephron-sparing surgery after the tiny filtering units (nephrons) that make up the kidneys.
Because you keep your kidney in a partial nephrectomy, you’re able to preserve more long-term function. Penn Medicine surgeons make every attempt to avoid complete kidney removal. Their skill and experience help them more precisely remove tumors, reducing the chance for recurrence (when cancer comes back).
A radical nephrectomy removes all of one kidney and potentially surrounding tissues, including the adrenal gland, lymph nodes, and fatty tissue.
If both kidneys are removed, it’s called a bilateral nephrectomy.
Sometimes surgery can improve your quality of life when advanced or terminal cancer can’t be cured. Your care team may recommend a palliative nephrectomy, removing a kidney, to relieve pain and other symptoms like blood in the urine (hematuria) or too much calcium in the blood (hypercalcemia).
Donating a kidney can save a life. Living kidney donation involves transferring a healthy kidney from a donor to a recipient with kidney failure.