Laparoscopic partial kidney nephrectomy on t1b

Mighty F.

Welcome to the club which no one in their right mind would volunteer to join. Here are some answers to your questions.

1.Not fun. Hopefully you will be back to a xlow normal in about  5 weeks.

2. Hopeefully not.

3. Club members in general have lower CKD numbers than the general public. Uour doctors will monitor this.

$. Eat healthier.

7. Unlikely but there is always a small chance so you will receive follow up scans.

May you have an uneventful surgery.

Icemantoo

5. The most asked question, will be recurrent ?

I was told the same about surgery being the end of it, now, 7 years later I'm re-DX'd with RCC with mets in the lymph nodes in the R adrenal area. 

STAY ON TOP OF FOLLOW UP EXAMS!!! 

That was my mistake, "Awww, pffft, it's gone and I feel fine!!" until a CT during a ER visit for pancreatitis showed a mass on my R adrenal gland.

Make sure you discuss follow ups with the Doc.

No surgery is fun, but in the hierarchy of surgeries, the robotic assisted partial isn't as bad.  Everyone's experience is different, but compared to some open abdominal surgeries I've had to endure, the recovery from the kideny surgery went easier.  The risk of recurrence will depend, in part, on the type of RCC that's diagnosed.  Mine was chromophobe, and the surgeon told me it rarely spreads and rarely recurs, on top of growing very slowly.  But I'll have scans and x-rays every six months (just had my second six month scan yesterday, so today I'm waiting for the results).  Your ongoing monitoring will likely be the same.  In terms of kidney function, my creatinine before the operation was 1.1.  They measured it again yesterday before the scan (as it was done with contrast) and it was 1.1.

Best wishes for a totally boring, unremarkable surgery and recovery.

1. How is was the recover after the LPN? Heard it will be VERY pain during 1-2 days and fully recovery after 1 year...?

My recovery from a robotic assisted LPN was not very bad.  I was pretty much pain-free the morning after my surgery, absent the pulling sensation from the stuff they used to seal the incisions.  I was back at the gym pretty much full force for cardio in about six weeks, and back to lifting weights about a month after that.  But everyone is different.

2. Is any there treament i need afer my LPN (As my doctor did said there is no further treatment after removed)

I just had my second six month scans completed.....x-ray and CT.  You'll likely have the same schedule unless something unforseen arises during surgery.  But given your scans, that seems unlikely.

3. Will after surgery i will be progression to CKD?

That should not be the case.  Before the surgery, my creatinine was 1.1.  Before my CT scan yesterday, the test for creatinine (since they used contrast material in the scan) was 1.1  No change despite having a smaller kidney.

4. Do i have to change my eating lifestyle?

I wasn't given any specific instructions, but eating a healthy, balanced diet never killed anyone.  I periodically have a glass of wine or a beer and once in a great while, I'll have a steak, when I feel like I just need to get some extra iron in my body.  But mostly, I stick with lean meats and a lot of seafood.

5. The most asked question, will be recurrent ?

Your doctor can give you all the statistics.  In large part, it depends on the particular type of RCC that's diagnosed.  In my case, it was chromophobe RCC, a variety that affects only about 5% of RCC patients.  Fortunately, it's slow growing, rarely spreads and rarely recurs.

Here's hoping you have the most boring surgery and speedy, uneventful recovery imaginable.

Mighty Frog said:

Follow Up & Check Up after Surgical (CT Scan vs MRI)

Thank you for information Bay Area Guy and medic1971, atleast now i have some pictures how it is going to be.

Another of my concern the use of CT scan during the followup. Heard that CT scan can cause cancer. Can we opt for MRIs scan? As we are periodically need check up. If MRI can get the job done.... I likely will opt for MRI

 

Counting down to 20/7/2017......

 

I've been told various things by various doctors regarding how effective an MRI is at detecting RCC.  The urologic oncologist I use at Stanford didn't mention that mode, only mentioning CT and ultrasound.  Of course, that may have had something to do with me telling him I'm quite claustrophic, so if I were to have an MRI, it would have to be an open MRI.

I'm going in on Tuesday for an appointment with my surgeon.  I already have the results of the chest x-ray and CT scan that have been done (all clear), and I'm going to ask if I can have ultrasounds going forward, just to minimize the exposure to radiation.

One of the most painful things is something no one tells you about=the GAS the surgeon uses to pump up your abdomen, why? So he can see! It gets trapped and takes awhile to get out of the body. One place it tends to be trapped is in the shoulder. YES, it is painful, but if you know its a harmless gas and move around, esp your arm you'll get it out and be fine. Many mistake this pain from the actual surgery procedure. 

USE ICE packs over incisions, to reduce swelling=less pain=less pain meds. 

I have had 2 laprocropic/robotic surgeries and found both MUCH easier, less painful than two bigger, open (larger incision) surgeries (for other things).

AND I used a lumbar wrap to support those healing, painful muscles/insides. Helps a lot for getting up from chair or bed. Yes, I wore it to bed. 

I was done with pain pills in less than 5 days, using ice and this support wrap.

Think about that and see if it can be helpful for you as well.

You WILL get through this and sounds like by the size of your tumor, cancer will most likely be gone with surgery. Think about THAT! Not too folks with many other types of cancer have such reassurances as most of us do.

Good luck! Let us know how you are doing. 

Healing hugs, 

Jan