Kidney Cancer

Surgery

Mayo Clinic urologists have long been leaders in performing surgery on both large and small kidney cancer tumors, and those that have spread to other organs or structures, including the veins that drain the kidney. Mayo surgeons' ability to perform such complex surgical procedures can help many patients whose cancer might otherwise be inoperable or untreatable.

Partial Nephrectomy (Kidney-Sparing Surgery)

Most kidney tumors today are detected incidentally when physicians review magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results, a CT scan, or abdominal ultrasound, which are typically ordered to investigate other conditions. Kidney masses discovered incidentally account for 70 percent of the kidney procedures performed at Mayo Clinic. Only 5 percent of kidney cancer patients exhibit one or more of the classic symptoms — pain, blood in the urine, or a lump or mass detected on the lower back or abdomen during a physical exam.

Early kidney tumor detection, combined with advances in diagnostic techniques, prompted Mayo Clinic urologists to investigate the potential of a kidney-sparing procedure (partial nephrectomy) to treat small, solid masses confined to the organ. Mayo urologic surgeons have more than 30 years of experience using partial nephrectomies to treat kidney cancer, and have performed thousands of partial nephrectomies.

Partial nephrectomies — sometimes also referred to as nephron-sparing surgery — offer excellent protection against cancer recurrence for patients who have small, localized solid masses with no other suspicious features present. A partial nephrectomy can also improve the odds of good long-term kidney function, which is particularly important for patients with only one kidney, who would otherwise require regular dialysis treatment and/or a kidney transplant following a radical nephrectomy.

Further, a Mayo Clinic study indicates that partial nephrectomies performed in patients less than 65 years old may actually contribute to increased survival rates, compared to patients who undergo radical nephrectomies. Evidence suggests risks associated with heart-related complications increase as kidney function declines with age. Therefore, a patient who undergoes partial nephrectomy will keep the function of more than one kidney to help offset any eventual decreases in kidney performance.

Radical Nephrectomy

The complete surgical removal of a diseased kidney and its neighboring adrenal gland, called radical nephrectomy, was once the most widely-performed surgery to treat kidney cancer. Now that kidney tumors are being detected much earlier, Mayo Clinic surgeons perform a radical nephrectomy only when absolutely necessary to treat advanced kidney cancer.

Minimally Invasive Techniques

Mayo Clinic urologists are also investigating novel surgical procedures that use minimally invasive techniques, require fewer incisions and use natural body openings when possible. Performing procedures through natural openings such as the mouth, belly button, vagina and urethra may diminish surgery's impact on patients and reduce scarring.