In cases of kidney cancer, surgery is a common treatment for the disease. Types of surgery used to treat kidney cancer include partial nephrectomy, simple nephrectomy, and radical nephrectomy. A person can live with part of one working kidney, but if both kidneys are removed during kidney cancer surgery or are not working properly, the person will need dialysis or a kidney transplant.
Kidney cancer surgery is a common treatment for the disease. A nephrectomy is an operation that is used to remove the kidney. There are several types of nephrectomies, which depend on the stage of the tumor (see Kidney Cancer Stages).
This eMedTV article uses "kidney cancer" to refer to renal cell carcinoma (also known as renal cell cancer), the most common of the kidney cancer types.
In a partial nephrectomy, the surgeon will remove only the part of the kidney that contains the tumor. This type of kidney cancer surgery may be used when the person:
Has only one kidney
Has cancer that has affected both kidneys
Has a small kidney tumor (less than 4 centimeters or three-quarters of an inch).
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