post radical nephrectomy developed a flank bulge

rfjj

flank bulge information

This forum doesn't seem to be very active but I hope someone can help me with information about flank bulge treatments.  I appreciate all the comments thus far and they have helped me very much.   I had an open partial nephrectomy on Sep 12th of this year.  My doc told me in advance that he would remove a rib and that I would have a flank bulge likely the rest of my life (I'm 77 now).  I trust my doc as he has treated me for bladder cancer (over 5 years ago) and he is a very good surgeon oncologist.  However he has not been helpful with my flank bulge and thinks it's no big deal.  But for me it is a big deal.  On my own I have researched the bulge and believe it can become worse over time if I didn't take care of it.  So I always wear a support of some kind.  I generally wear a Spanx compression T shirt with an ab belt.  Without these devices my arm constantly knocks or rubs my bulge and also toward the end of the day I start feeling minor discomfort...sort of like a mild gas pain.  My discomfort is not bad now and I don't want it to get worse so I figure an once of prevention, etc.  I certainly will not consider surgery unless the bulge gets a lot worse.  My interest in this forum is as follows:  What are the chances that the bulge will get better, i.e. smaller or maybe even disappear?  Plus the reverse question of what is the chance the bulge will get worse, or even turn into a hernia or damage internal organs?  Lastly, exactly what is happening to create the bulge?  I've read that my 9 inch incision likely cut nerves which led to a flaccid muscle???  Or, maybe the removal of a rib caused the bulge???  I greatly appreciate any comments or suggestions that are posted on this forum.  Thank you.

Deanie0916

Flank bulge

I had a radical nephrectomy in late August of this year...I don't know if I have a bulge but I know there is a lot of discomfort and swelling. My surgeon and nurses have told me that I will have the tightness, swelling et. for a good sox months if not longer. Some days are better than others. It seems to be getting a little better each day. Hope it gets better every day for everyone here. God bless you...

redoaktree

Flank Bulge

I have a pretty large bulge on my right side from a partial nephrectomy surgery that was done in 2008 I had one surgery about three years later that looked great for a while but the bulge has returned. It is amazing how many doctors do not totally understand the cause and solution. I was so distraut when the second surgery fails. With the fast pace of medical advances I hope there can be some way to solve this problem. I often wondered if some type of artifical stimulation to muscles could make them tight and stronger. Like many of the other post I was never told this could have been the outcome from the Kidney surgery. If anyone has some new information on this topic I would love to hear from you.

pjnewby

Update on my husband

I can hardly believe all these entries of so many suffering from this 'hidden medical secret' of flank surgery. I am so sorry for all of you. What Rainbow Explorer has described is horrific. You have all my sympathies and hopes for you. 

 

Vross, I'm sorry I have not seen your comment. I just ran onto this site after a very long time.  My husband did well for a while but after the healing process it was very clear it would come back. We re-visited Dr. Guy Voeller and he basically said that it's just physics. If my husband doesn't keep his weight down, the bulge will continue to grow. Even with the mesh, it isn't holding it back. The bulge isn't as big as before but it makes wearing clothes very difficult. He has to wear suspenders to hold his pants up because he can't wear a belt and his pants are higher on one side and lower on the other because of the bulge.  He does have pain and I find that he is rubbing his side often every day. There seems to be no hope out there. It's the medical communities dirty little secret. NO ONE warned us of the risk with this surgery. Kidney cancer is hard enough to deal with and wrap your head around without dealing with the after-effects of the surgery itself.  Have you EVER heard of the Kidney Foundation say ANYTHING of these risks when they show these people that donate a kidney for a loved one or perfect strangers? Nope. If you go to their website there is absoltely NOTHING about the risks. I don't think its as rare as you might think.  We had a trusted plastic surgion in on the last 'corrective' surgery and I felt they did all they could. Yes, my husband could lose some weight and that would aliieviate some of the physics involved but the bulge is still there. Our GP monitors his blood levels for the kidney left over but it's like the whole surgical community has tight lips about it.  I'm so so sorry you all have had this life-altering experience.  I ask a lot of questions now and do a lot of research.  And by the way, I applied to Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and Vanderbilt for help and they all turned us down. I'm sorry I can't offer more encouraging information.  My husband functions like normal and is living with it but he hides in his clothes, doesn't sleep well, feels very uncomfortable in anything but a shirt with the tail out. He's in more pain than he lets on. 

FlankBulgeAlso

rfjj said:

flank bulge information

This forum doesn't seem to be very active but I hope someone can help me with information about flank bulge treatments.  I appreciate all the comments thus far and they have helped me very much.   I had an open partial nephrectomy on Sep 12th of this year.  My doc told me in advance that he would remove a rib and that I would have a flank bulge likely the rest of my life (I'm 77 now).  I trust my doc as he has treated me for bladder cancer (over 5 years ago) and he is a very good surgeon oncologist.  However he has not been helpful with my flank bulge and thinks it's no big deal.  But for me it is a big deal.  On my own I have researched the bulge and believe it can become worse over time if I didn't take care of it.  So I always wear a support of some kind.  I generally wear a Spanx compression T shirt with an ab belt.  Without these devices my arm constantly knocks or rubs my bulge and also toward the end of the day I start feeling minor discomfort...sort of like a mild gas pain.  My discomfort is not bad now and I don't want it to get worse so I figure an once of prevention, etc.  I certainly will not consider surgery unless the bulge gets a lot worse.  My interest in this forum is as follows:  What are the chances that the bulge will get better, i.e. smaller or maybe even disappear?  Plus the reverse question of what is the chance the bulge will get worse, or even turn into a hernia or damage internal organs?  Lastly, exactly what is happening to create the bulge?  I've read that my 9 inch incision likely cut nerves which led to a flaccid muscle???  Or, maybe the removal of a rib caused the bulge???  I greatly appreciate any comments or suggestions that are posted on this forum.  Thank you.

I understand your concerns. I

I understand your concerns. I also came here to find information on flank bulge.  I had spine surgery (thoriac area at T11/T12 with the side flank incision) in March 2017 and developed the bulge that is talked about here.  It has been hard finding good information.  One of your concerns was if it was the nerve damage or the rib removal- I would think it was the nerves.  I also had bone removed from a rib, but the doctor has said that did not have anything to do with the bulge. My spine doctor was not helpful about the bulge, since he did not do the opening/closing and my spine is much better, which is his only concern. The opening/closing doctor has said the bulge can happen, it did, no big deal, and that it can be surgically repaired if it bothers me too much, by reattaching the 'relaxed' muscle to another internal spot and stitching it to hold it.  I do not want more surgery at this point.  I also look like I'm pregnat on half of my body, and it is easily visable in clothing. It is hard to walk steps and very uncomfortable at times.  I have called it an alien, it feels like it wants to 'explode out'-the pressure is very tiring. Advice given to me is to do core excercises to build strength in the muscles that are working. I also was told to lose some weight, I did, and it only made the bulge more noticeable, it did not decrease any.  I was told the bulge will probably never 'go away' but that the discomfort and the skin area pain may get better if the nerve heals more.  This article on the intercostal nerves explains a bit about the control of the abdominal wall and the skin in that area.   ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercostal_nerves

 

FlankBulgeAlso

vross said:

UNSIGHTLY ABDOMINAL FLANK BULGE LADY

Rmore,

 

Sorry I didnt answer sooner.  I lost webiste and accidently didnt send earlier reply.  I did go see Dr. Guy Voeller in Memphis TN.  I was so devastated after I drove 6 hours to see him.  He told me that my bulge will likely continue to enlarge and that he wouldnt attempt to correct it until it is considerably larger.  I am always uncomfortable or in pain with it, aside from the embarrassment of it in my clothes.   Also,  causing me digestion issues.  My primary care doc thinks I now have at least a small hernia in my belly button area.

I always park in the expectant mother's reserved spots, I figure, heck, I may be 56, but I got a baby bump to fool security!  I am having another CT scan with contrast this Friday 01/31/14.  I have been in contact with Dr. Daniel Kim in Texas as he was involved in a research of this issue.  He is a neurosurgeon and wants to run nerve conduction testing.  I saw someone posted about this.  I have not seen Dr Kim yet, as he never answered my question if he could correct my dennervation injury.  I may try and see him this summer, I just so sick of dealing with this.  MY BULGE resulted from an Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion on 08/01/11.  Neither the thoracic or ortho surgeon informed me this could happen.  They never would admit it was a life sentence either or informed me what it was exactly.  I found out through my own research on line.  

I wonder if the lady whose husband had a repair by Dr. Guy Voeller is still out there. I would like to know how he is doing. Dr. Voeller indicated to me that the bulge always comes back.  If they can send a man to the moon, why the heck can't someone come up with a cure.  I recommend people google the research abdominal flank bulge, Dr. Daniel Kim.

Please feel free to emai me at vross0215@gmail.com

My situation also.  Never was

My situation also.  Never was told about this with all the other possibilities of the spine surgery, and finding info was research on my end, like you.  But I am walking and not in a wheelchair, so my discomfort and changed figure are part of life now.  I am hopeful that no other complications come because of the bulge.

 

kinsaz

I also have one

I was a kidney donor in 1997 and have an 8” scar on my right waist. Immediately after the nephrectomy, while I was still in the hospital, i complained about this huge bulge on that side. No one thought it worth talking about, not the surgeon, not the nurses. Two years later, after I complained to my primary care doc a few times, she referred me to a surgeon who did the mesh repair. It seemed to work because I looked pretty normal, but about 4 weeks post surgery, I got bronchitis and the constant coughing undid any improvement. I’ve since been to another surgeon who said it couldn’t be fixed. I live with this larger-than-before bulge and can wear only over-sized shirts, nothing tucked in, and clothes, including pants, don’t fit because they have to accommodate a good several inches on my right side that I don’t have on my left. No one told me of this possibility and you’d think after 22 years I’d be over it, but I’m not. It’s positively ugly and proof that no good deed goes unpunished.

Ironically, a couple of years after my donation, my brother also donated but had laparoscopic surgery and none of this deformity.

CVD01

Flank Bulge - Lifestyle Impact?

Another question regarding post nephrectomy flank bulge. Open surgery was 6 weeks ago (successfully removed 2 - 3cm clear cell tumor, saved most of kidney).  I have an 8” left side scar. The bulge is size of soccer ball cut in half, at and below scar (I call it a male 4 month pregnant bulge). The incisional pain is mostly gone.  My concern is the lifestyle impact of having severed nerves and corresponding relaxed abdominal wall muscle (don’t like the appearance, but not a major concern).

 

At this point, I’m restricting myself to minor physical activities (level walking).  Will I be able to return to more moderate activities (hiking, biking, swimming)? Now, I can barely work in the garden.  Are these compromised nerves going to render my torso unable to handle much of any stretching or stress?  Does it get better (do nerves repair themselves)?

John7022019

I have baseball size bulge

I have baseball size bulge above scar after nephrectomy 5 weeks ago. I try abdominal binder. But I don't know if it is real helpful for the case.

gmaw4

I had my kidney removed 11/2/22 and have a 5” bulging scar on my right side. It is painful and the area around it seems numb. In fact I’m numb from below my waist to well below my navel. Pain travels around my right side. It is complicated because I had shingles in 2004 and have had chronic pain and spasms on my right side since. Sitting is very uncomfortable and when home I’m usually in bed. Bending over is also painful. Is anyone getting pain relief from medications? I’m 74 and also have Crohn’s along with a number of past surgeries.

rubiesky

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1597391#Comment_1597391

You mentioned in your original post that they found viable muscle to replace the denervated muscle that they cut away. Where did they take the muscle from that they ended up using out of curiosity? I'm completely numb from my belly button all the way around to the side of my back and have been for 30 years since my surgery in 1993. My bulge didn't happen until 5-6 years ago when I got pregnant and carried to full term and also hurt my back and had surgery from that and was in a wheel chair and gained a ton of weight and couldn't walk. Once I had weight loss surgery and all the weight came off, SURPRISE!!! It's not just a muscle that needs toned. It blows up like a balloon when I tighten my abs even a little! How are we supposed to exercise and strengthen our cores like this! I feel like Jane Fonda Abs on the left and Baymax Abs on the right 🙄