Kidney op

[elliemay1]

My friend had a scan which showed that she had a small lump on one kidney. Her doctor said it was nothing to worry about but since then she has been contacted by a specialist and told she will have to have an op to remove it. He said it was better to remove it now rather than waiting 10 or 15 yrs down the line when it would be bigger. My query is if it does no harm for that length of time then can it be really serious? Has anyone any similar experience?

[foodluva]

I'm presuming the lump is benign Elliemay? If the lump were to be left and subsequently increase in size, this could result in complications such as impaired kidney function, hydronephrosis and/or sepsis and she could become very sick. Probably best to remove the lump before these problems start. Sorry for the jargon (I'm a urology nurse), you may need to google some of these terms.

[Sqad]

\\\\\I'm presuming the lump is benign Elliemay?\\\\

Quite an assumption.

This sounds as though someone else has looked at the scan and are unhappy with the report sent to your GP (if that was the case)

The removal will be to establish the true nature of the "lump."

[elliemay1]

Thank you both for answering. I would also presume it is benign, otherwise specialist would have sounded more urgent and wouldn't have said, " 10 or 15 yrs down the line." But, as Squad has said, I suppose they won't know until it is removed and analysed. Foodluva, as a urology nurse have you had experience of this op and if so, has the outcome been successful? My friend is terrified of it.

[foodluva]

Sqad, I don't think I made 'quite an assumption' based on the information contained in the original post (and confirmed by Elliemay's response). You'll also note that I followed this statement with a question mark as I was seeking clarification. That said, I agree that in the absence of more information, your theory may also be correct. It is always difficult to establish the actual content of consultant/patient communication as this info becomes diluted by the time it is communicated via others to Answerbank. However, should the lump be benign then I stand by my original response. Should there be more to the story, then Sqad is correct in that only through removal and biopsy can the lump's true nature be established. The surgeon himself/herself may be making assumptions based on the appearance on the scan as to whether he/she expects it to be malignant or not.

To answer your question Elliemay, if it's removal of the lump only, then this op is usually well tolerated and recovery speedy. If the whole kidney is removed, again recovery is usually good but can take a bit longer (maybe a week in hospital). This is assuming (another assumption!!) that there are no other co-morbidities which would impact on a post op recovery. It's a very common op in my place of work and complications are few.

Foodie x

[Sqad]

foodluva.....I was n't criticising your post which was excellent, but just making a comment.

[elliemay1]

Thank you both so much.

[elliemay1]

My friend is through the op and recovering well. She has had a post-op consultation with the surgeon and has been told that the lump was a cancerous tumour which was removed successfully. She doesn't have to have chemotherapy but they will scan both kidneys in 4 months. Foodluva, as a urology nurse, do you think she will be ok long term?

[elliemay1]

foodluva, if you see this post could you please let me know what you think. Thank you.

[foodluva]

It's difficult to say based on the info here. But plus points which would indicate a good prognosis are the non requirement for chemo and the fact that your friend has retained the kidney in question so there has been no need for a full nephrectomy (kidney removal). Having a partial nephrectomy would indicate that the tumour was well contained. Many cancerous kidney tumours are encapsulated meaning that all the cells are contained within a small area which means that only partial removal of the kidney is necessary. The outlook is pretty good for these patients. The post op recovery is usually fairly quick although she may feel awful for a couple of days. BUT I stress that I can only generalise based on the info I have! Your friend's situation may differ! Hope this helps!

D x

[elliemay1]

Foodluva, I've only seen your reply now. Thank you for answering.