Procedure
The surgery is performed with the patient under general anesthesia. The surgeon makes an incision in the side of the abdomen to reach the kidney. Depending on circumstances, the incision can also be made midline. The ureter and blood vessels are disconnected, and the kidney is then removed. The surgery can be done as open surgery, with one incision, or as a laparoscopic procedure, with three or four small cuts in the abdominal and flank area. Recently, this procedure is performed through a single incision in the patient's belly-button. This advanced technique is called as single port laparoscopy.
In January 2009, a woman who had previously had a hysterectomy was able to donate a kidney and have it removed through her vagina. The operation took place at Johns Hopkins Medical Center. This is the first time a healthy kidney has been removed via this method, though it has been done in the past for nephrectomies carried out due to pathology. Removing organs through orifices prevents some of the pain of an incision and the need for a cosmetically unappealing larger scar. Any advance which leads to a decrease in pain and scarring has the potential to boost donor numbers. This operation also has taken place at the Cleveland Clinic. The first transvaginal Nephrectomy actually took place at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland Ohio.
For some illnesses, there are alternatives today that do not require the extraction of a kidney. Such alternatives include renal embolization for those who are poor candidates for surgery, or partial nephrectomy if possible.
More rarely, renal cell cancers can involve adjacent organs, yet may be safely and completely removed surgically via open or laparoscopic techniques.
Read more about this topic: Nephrectomy