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 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.

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 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

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.

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.

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 🙄