Nephrectomy (nuh-FREK-tuh-me) is a surgical procedure to remove all or part of a kidney:
- Complete nephrectomy. During a complete (radical) nephrectomy, the surgeon removes the entire kidney.
- Partial nephrectomy. In a partial nephrectomy, the surgeon removes diseased tissue from a kidney and leaves healthy tissue in place.
A nephrectomy may be performed to treat kidney cancer or to remove a seriously damaged or diseased kidney. In a donor nephrectomy, the surgeon removes a healthy kidney for transplant into a person who needs a functioning kidney.
The surgeon may perform the following nephrectomy procedures:
- open nephrectomy: a single but large incision in the abdomen or side
- laparoscopic nephrectomy: a series of small incisions in the abdomen
- robot-assisted nephrectomy: minimally invasive procedure through tiny incisions
To view our kidney surgery videos, visit our Youtube channel.