Partial Nephrectomy

Laparoscopic/robotic nephrectomy is performed in hospital under general anaesthetic (completely asleep).

We inflate your abdominal cavity with carbon dioxide gas to create space to perform the operation.

We make 4 – 6 keyhole incisions in your abdomen through which we can insert the laparoscopic/robotic surgical instruments.

We separate your kidney from surrounding structures such as the bowel, liver, spleen, muscle, and fat.

We then find the blood vessels supplying blood to your kidney and temporarily clamp them off.

While the kidney’s blood supply is clamped off, we cut the mass out of your kidney and close the defect with stitches.

We then unclamp the blood vessels to the kidney to restore the kidney’s blood supply.

The tumour is removed through one of the keyhole incisions.  The incisions are closed with dissolvable stitches or staples.

You will have a catheter (a tube draining urine from the bladder) for 1 – 2 days after the operation. You may have a drain (a plastic tube coming out of the abdomen) for a few days after the operation.

If you have two kidneys, there usually aren’t any long-term effects from having part of one of your kidneys removed.

After the operation, you may need to make diet and lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of future kidney damage.

Your urologist and/or GP will monitor the function of your remaining kidney for several years after the operation.  They will also check for other conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, which can damage your remaining kidney.