Radical Nephrectomy October 2,2014

NatalieDelgado84
NatalieDelgado84 Member Posts: 6
in Kidney Cancer #1

I had a radical nephrectomy on October 2, 2014. Now i know its only been a week, and yes ive asked my doctor these questions. But i would like to know from others who have actually experienced this. 

Is the swelling and pressure around incision normal and how long does it last?  I do feel numbness as well. Just dont know what to expect for upcoming months of healing. Can somebody please give me a little closure? Thank you.

Comments

  • icemantoo
    icemantoo Member Posts: 3,361 Member
    #2
    Welcome

    Natalie,

     

    Welcome to the club which no one in the ir right mind would volunteer to join. All of us have had that not so fun Neph. or a variation of it. Mine was 12 years ago.

     

    Swelling, numbness, soreness all go with the territory. Some of us recover in a month or two and others take longer. The swelling may take a year to go down. A lot depends on the type of surgery (laproscopic or open) or the difficulty of your surgery as well as your age, work  and health.

     

    Your future without further treatment (scans are part of this anyway) depend on the size of your tumor and the pathology results.

     

    Being sore (really sore) 10 days after a neph is normal. Each day will get a little better with a few bad days thrown in.  Chime in with any further questions.

     

    Icemantoo

  • aamdsi
    aamdsi Member Posts: 284
    #3
    Hello Natalie

    had my open partial in March and now the scar is just a thin red line.  The swelling and even the staple marks took a couple months to go down, an a few more the fade to this.  

    But the nimbness is still there and have been told may never go away.  Also, there are what I refer to as, BIDs (bad incision days) where it actually hurts - and those times are also normal.  They happen more after a hard work out or when really tireD.

    Doctor recommended aloe or vitiman E to rub on it (when they say you can) to help softten the skin. I think ice packs will help you a bit now though.

    In the meantime, time is your friend.  Take lots of walks, drink lots of water, take breaks (maybe with ice packs) and look towrds the future of being a healthy person.

    hug,s

    Laurie

  • Dave418
    Dave418 Member Posts: 95 Member
    #4
    Hi Nathalie, I had mine

    Hi Nathalie, I had mine september 3rd, it was laparoscopy, the first 2 weeks were the toughest ones, I tought pain and swelling would never go away. But it did! In the third week , I started taking longer walks and spending more and more time outside, feeling better everyday. I am now 6 weeks post-op and I can say I am back to 80/90% from where I was before surgery. 

    As everyone here told me, healing takes time, don't rush anything. People on this forum really helped me in the last few months, I would tell you to read topics here and ask questions when you don't find what you want, no doctors here, but everyone has gone trough what you are dealing with. 

    Dave

  • APny
    APny Member Posts: 1,995 Member
    #5
    Dave418 said:

    Hi Nathalie, I had mine

    Hi Nathalie, I had mine september 3rd, it was laparoscopy, the first 2 weeks were the toughest ones, I tought pain and swelling would never go away. But it did! In the third week , I started taking longer walks and spending more and more time outside, feeling better everyday. I am now 6 weeks post-op and I can say I am back to 80/90% from where I was before surgery. 

    As everyone here told me, healing takes time, don't rush anything. People on this forum really helped me in the last few months, I would tell you to read topics here and ask questions when you don't find what you want, no doctors here, but everyone has gone trough what you are dealing with. 

    Dave

    Hi Natalie. My surgery was in

    Hi Natalie. My surgery was in March also and the numbness is just now starting to go away. There's a little "ridge" above my incision, kind of like a small sausage, lol. It was much bigger at first but that too is slowly going down. Hang in there; it really does get better.

  • NatalieDelgado84
    NatalieDelgado84 Member Posts: 6
    #6
    thanks so much for all the

    thanks so much for all the advice. It really does make me feel better that I'm not alone! 

  • Positive_Mental_Attitude
    Positive_Mental_Attitude Member Posts: 454
    #7
    NatalieDelgado84 said:

    thanks so much for all the

    thanks so much for all the advice. It really does make me feel better that I'm not alone! 

    July surgery here.  Open

    July surgery here.  Open partial.  I have good and bad scar days. Most of the time, it is fine.  Some days it is a little sensitive and itches.  Stilll feels numb over the incision, but does not hurt. 

  • NatalieDelgado84
    NatalieDelgado84 Member Posts: 6
    #8
    question for the ladies...

    2weeks post op...I was supposed to have a menstrual a few days after surgery. .. still nothing. .. is it normal to be late? 

  • myoung790
    myoung790 Member Posts: 75
    #9
    NatalieDelgado84 said:

    question for the ladies...

    2weeks post op...I was supposed to have a menstrual a few days after surgery. .. still nothing. .. is it normal to be late? 

    It did not affect me, but I

    It did not affect me, but I could see how it might.

  • donna_lee
    donna_lee Member Posts: 1,045 Member
    #10
    myoung790 said:

    It did not affect me, but I

    It did not affect me, but I could see how it might.

    Tincture of Time

    Swelling, redness, itching, fatigue....all goes with any type of surgery and incision.  It does go away gradually, although it leaves a constant reminder.

    It's 8 years plus, and the incision still goes through bouts of intense itching.  Cool water finish during a shower, Eucerin lotion, fabrics that don't irritate all help, but sometimes it just has to be scratched.

    And Holy Moly, glad I didn't even have to think about a menstrual cycle.  But I would think that your body just said let skip this one.

    Happy Recovery.

    Donna

  • vccortes713
    vccortes713 Member Posts: 51
    #11
    donna_lee said:

    Tincture of Time

    Swelling, redness, itching, fatigue....all goes with any type of surgery and incision.  It does go away gradually, although it leaves a constant reminder.

    It's 8 years plus, and the incision still goes through bouts of intense itching.  Cool water finish during a shower, Eucerin lotion, fabrics that don't irritate all help, but sometimes it just has to be scratched.

    And Holy Moly, glad I didn't even have to think about a menstrual cycle.  But I would think that your body just said let skip this one.

    Happy Recovery.

    Donna

    I had mine last Sept. 18,

    I had mine last Sept. 18, 2014 its an open radical nephrectomy and yes it still hurts specially on the side where they took the kidney out...they are right, 1st two weeks is the toughest and that time I thought i've died a hundred times but on the third week it feels better slowly each day...

  • bobbynyc
    bobbynyc Member Posts: 4
    #12
    Give yourself time to heal. :)

    Natalie, I had 3/4 of my right kidney and a malignant tumor removed on Sept 25, 2014. The scars are hard and the swelling was severe. Plus I have some numbness down my left thigh. But its going down and the hardness under the inscisions are softening. Take your time and give your body time to heal. It will. I tried going back to the gym too early and strained my right side. Not smart. So now im enjoying just relaxing. You'll see in a couple of weeks what a difference you will notice. Good luck! :)

  • tyjsbtn
    tyjsbtn Member Posts: 50
    #13
    NatalieDelgado84 said:

    question for the ladies...

    2weeks post op...I was supposed to have a menstrual a few days after surgery. .. still nothing. .. is it normal to be late? 

    Sorry to be so personal

    Sorry to be so personal but...I started my monthly 2 days after my open radical nephrecomy in August.  It was a week early and I have not had another one since.  I figured that everything has been thrown a bit out of wack with the surgery and I am waiting until my scans in December to bring it up to the doctor.  I would give it more time but if it is really worrying you then ask the dr on your next checkup.

  • NatalieDelgado84
    NatalieDelgado84 Member Posts: 6
    #14
    bobbynyc said:

    Give yourself time to heal. :)

    Natalie, I had 3/4 of my right kidney and a malignant tumor removed on Sept 25, 2014. The scars are hard and the swelling was severe. Plus I have some numbness down my left thigh. But its going down and the hardness under the inscisions are softening. Take your time and give your body time to heal. It will. I tried going back to the gym too early and strained my right side. Not smart. So now im enjoying just relaxing. You'll see in a couple of weeks what a difference you will notice. Good luck! :)

    bobbynyc, hope youre doing

    bobbynyc, hope youre doing better! as for my self, i feel great. I guess time is what i needed. Exercising was one of my top priorities before i got sick. Do you know of any energy boosters that are safe to take without hurting my kidney. Im still new to this and im afraid of drinking anything besides water! Let me know please. Id love to get back on track! Thank you!Laughing

  • APny
    APny Member Posts: 1,995 Member
    #15
    NatalieDelgado84 said:

    bobbynyc, hope youre doing

    bobbynyc, hope youre doing better! as for my self, i feel great. I guess time is what i needed. Exercising was one of my top priorities before i got sick. Do you know of any energy boosters that are safe to take without hurting my kidney. Im still new to this and im afraid of drinking anything besides water! Let me know please. Id love to get back on track! Thank you!Laughing

    I didn't drink anything but

    I didn't drink anything but water for a long time. I really don't think it's a good idea with any of those so called energy drinks, especially with a full nephrectomy. Safest would be to ask you doctor. As for exercise, I took lots of walks. I did not go back on the treadmill for at least a month if not longer.

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