Cancer is a serious disease for which doctors have not yet found an effective medicine. There is therapy, which, unfortunately, does not always bring the desired result. Now I want to talk about a disease such as kidney cancer: prognosis after removal and complications after surgery in such patients.
About the disease
Initially, I want to note that kidney cancer is an oncological disease that most often occurs after 40 years. If we talk about gender, then it mainly affects middle-aged and older men. The doctors can’t name the exact cause of the disease for today, however, they identify factors that can contribute to its appearance:
- Overweight.
- Drinking alcohol, especially beer, as well as smoking.
- The abuse of diuretics, that is, medication diuretics.
- Diseases such as arterial hypertension, kidney cysts, or diabetes can also contribute to the development of the tumor.
- A kidney injury can provoke the appearance of a tumor (when falling or hitting).
- And, of course, doctors do not rule out a hereditary factor.
There is no single forecast in this situation. It all depends on how early the disease is detected and whether treatment is started on time. Often in this case, surgical intervention is required.
About removal
If a patient has kidney cancer, surgery is what is most effective in this case. No medication can completely cope with the problem. The most effective in this case is a nephrectomy. With this procedure, the renal vein and artery are ligated, after which a special part of the kidney is removed. This operation can be of two types:
- Partial nephrectomy, when the tumor itself is small and is located closer to the upper or lower region of the kidney, which makes it possible not to completely remove the organ, but only to excise the neoplasm.
- Radical nephrectomy, when only a tumor cannot be removed. This may be due to its large size or localization in the renal or inferior vena cava.
It is also worth distinguishing between two types of surgical intervention. Removal of a kidney in cancer is:
- Traditional when a small incision is made in the lumbar region.
- Laparoscopic, when the incision is completely tiny, and a special technique is used for the intervention - a laparoscope.
Complications after Nephrectomy
If a patient has kidney cancer, the prognosis after removal may be very different. And it all depends on multiple factors, one of which is complications after surgery. What then could be?
- Often there is damage to adjacent organs or arteries and veins.
- Healthy kidney tissue can also be damaged during surgery.
- A huge problem is bleeding in the postoperative period.
- Among the problems may be pneumothorax, that is, air entering the abdominal cavity, infection of the external wound, postoperative hernia.
All these factors complicate the healing process of the patient. However, doctors today skillfully cope with them.
Artery Embolization
When a patient is diagnosed with kidney cancer, the prognosis after removal depends on the treatment method. So, the method of surgical intervention is not always suitable for the patient, but the organ must be excised. In this case, resort to embolization of the artery. This procedure is special in that an incision is made in the groin to the patient and a special fluid is blocked with the help of a catheter. As a result, blood supply to the organ does not occur, the kidney dies. Later, this organ can be removed from the patient's body through surgery. This is one of the forms of cessation of the functioning of a diseased organ by the method of its killing. The forecast in this case is very optimistic. To aggravate the situation can metastases, which appear even before the kidney is removed.
Cryoablation
Considering how to get rid of the diagnosis of kidney cancer, prognoses after organ removal by various methods are important to talk about. So, if surgical intervention is contraindicated for the patient, organ removal can also be carried out by cryoablation. In this case, special tubes are inserted into the body through which cold is supplied, and as a result, the diseased kidney is frozen. After this, the body is thawed, and so several times. As a result of such a temperature difference, the tumor dies, and the organ begins to function normally again. The risks of complications with this procedure are minimal, and the percentage of patient survival is quite high.
About patient survival
The survival of patients depends on the stage of development of the disease:
- If at the first stage, when the tumor did not come out of the capsule, start treatment, the survival rate of patients is 80-100%.
- In the second stage, when the tumor extends beyond the capsule, survival falls by about 30%. The situation can be complicated by nodes and metastases. In this case, no more than 30% of patients live another 5 years, and only 10% of patients survive to 10 years.
- With tumor thrombosis of large veins, survival is reduced by about 40%.
Postoperative complications
We further consider a problem such as kidney cancer (predictions after removal). Testimonials from patients' relatives indicate that the following factors have a very negative impact on survival:
- Severe postoperative condition of the patient.
- It’s most difficult to cope with kidney cancer when the symptoms are already signaling the disease. It is better if the tumor is detected by ultrasound, but there are still no external manifestations.
- A dangerous fact is when the patient's body weight decreases by more than 10%.
- Survival decreases if ESR in the blood rises.
Organ Removal and Survival
The prognosis after removal of kidney cancer in most cases is positive. However, after such an operation, the patient will have to be careful all the time. Be sure to have to regularly visit a doctor, go for an ultrasound scan, do an MRI or CT scan to examine the body for metastases. Sometimes it is also necessary to constantly observe other specialists who will “lead” the patient to other diseases that significantly complicate the patient’s life. Often people have to be registered with an endocrinologist, cardiologist or rheumatologist.
A special diet after kidney removal is also important . In this case, you will have to completely abandon salt and salted food. Only in this case, the remaining kidney can easily work and perform the function for the second, excised part. Animal protein will also need to be avoided.
If the patient has one kidney left after surgery, there is a possibility that it will be possible to do without dialysis. In the case of a clear implementation of all the doctor’s prescriptions, compliance with the rules, the remaining organ will be able to fully function. However, in this case, you will also have to forever abandon certain sports, where there is a load on the lumbar region. Also, when taking various medications, you need to carefully read the instructions so that the remaining organ does not create an additional load. Life, of course, will be a little complicated. However, a person will be able to do much more good in this world, having pleased relatives and friends with his presence.