One of the most effective ways to treat nearly any cancer is through the surgical removal of the tumor and possibly the surrounding tissue. This process works best and offers the most successful results when performed within the early stages of the disease, before the cancerous cells have spread into the lymphatic system and beyond.
While this type of cancer begins in the small organs, known as kidneys, it can branch out, traveling to other organs through the blood stream and eventually making it very difficult to treat through surgical methods alone.
Kidney cancer surgery can involve the removal of an entire kidney, or a partial surgical procedure, which removes only a portion of the organ. The amount which will need to be removed is based on the discretion of your surgeon, and is calculated using specific testing of the area to understand where the cancer is and whether it has begun to spread.
Open Nephrectomy:
The most common form of kidney cancer surgery is called an open nephrectomy. This is when the tumor and infected tissue surrounding the tumor are removed, but the kidney remains intact and is saved from extraction. Doctors will choose this route so long as it is safe for the patient. While removing an entire kidney is not fatal, it provides more opportunity to infection, and trouble in the future.
The open nephrectomy procedure has a high success rate in terms of safe tissue removal, although the overall success in the eradication of the cancer will depend on many variables, including whether or not all of the cancerous tissue have been removed before spreading to other parts of the body.
Open Radical Nephrectomy:
Another kidney cancer surgery, called an open radical nephrectomy, removes the entire kidney. This occurs when the tumor has spread deep into the organ and is beginning to spread to other organs. In these cases, the adrenal gland and nearby lymph nodes may need to be extracted as well. Sometimes if the tumor has begun to grow into a nearby vein, this will also need to be removed, and a blood transfusion will be included in the procedure as well.
Open radical nephrectomy surgery is more complex than a standard open nephrectomy and it has a less than 1% fatality rate. The more tissue that needs to be removed, the greater the chances for complications to occur. Unfortunately, there also tends to be a greater chance for a return of the disease, especially if it has already begun spreading into the lymph nodes.
Surgical Success:
While kidney cancer surgery is the top treatment option used by most physicians, it is commonly paired with other treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. If your doctor believes that the surgery will be a success on its own, he or she may still use radiotherapy to shrink remaining cancer cells and reduce the risk of a return later in life. Chemotherapy isn't normally used unless your doctor believes that not all of the cancerous tissue have been or could be properly removed. Both of these additional treatments can also help in the management of symptoms.