Surgery is the most common treatment for kidney cancer. Even if surgery cannot cure your kidney cancer, it can still be used to help relieve symptoms, such as pressure or pain (palliative surgery).
Our surgical oncologists offer extensive expertise in the most advanced, minimally invasive procedures for kidney cancer. They use evidence-based guidelines to minimize your hospital stay, recovery time and complications while improving outcomes and patient satisfaction.
Patients receiving kidney surgery from high-volume surgeons like ours at high-volume hospitals like the Brigham have higher success rates and fewer complications. Our surgeons’ success rates are among the best in the country.
When surgery is used to remove a cancerous part of a kidney or a whole cancerous kidney, as well as any nearby cancerous lymph nodes, it is called a nephrectomy. Most kidney cancers are cured with a form of this surgery. Below are the different types of nephrectomies:
Depending on the size and location of your kidney cancer, you may receive either open surgery (done with a large incision over your belly), laparoscopic surgery (done with many small incisions) or robotic surgery (similar to laparoscopic surgery but completed by robot arms technologically guided by the surgeon).
Learn more about these surgical treatment options, including what to expect before and after surgery. Learn more about all of our center’s treatment options.
If you are having surgery or a procedure, you will likely be scheduled to visit the Roberta and Stephen R. Weiner Center for Preoperative Evaluation for preoperative information and tests. Learn more about planning for preoperative appointments, as well as contact information for the Weiner Center.
We recommend planning ahead for your surgery including designating someone to bring you to and from your procedure. Your care team will provide you with specific instructions to best prepare for your surgery.
The day of surgery, you will be cared for in the operating room by our surgeons, anesthesiologists and nurses who specialize in kidney cancer surgery. After surgery, you will recover in the post-surgical care unit where you will receive comprehensive care by our experienced surgical and nursing staff. Your hospital stay will depend on the type of surgery you have. The average patient receiving a nephrectomy procedure will be in the hospital for 2–7 days.
Recovery time after you leave the hospital varies from patient to patient and on the type of surgery you have, but it may take a month or more for a nephrectomy. You may feel tired or weak immediately post-surgery, and you will likely also have pain from the incision. Talk with your doctor about your options for pain relief. You will be advised to avoid strenuous activity and heavy lifting for at least the six weeks after your surgery. Those who work in person may take three to four weeks off of work after a nephrectomy procedure.
If you have any questions about your surgery, talk to your health care team. They can help you know what to expect before, during and after your surgery. Learn more about your hospital stay and returning home.
If you are not eligible for surgery, our team will work with you on non-surgical treatment options, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy and clinical trials, in addition to treatments for any symptoms you may have. Your care team will work to control the spread of your cancer and manage your symptoms.
Learn more about non-surgical treatment options for kidney cancer.
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