Nephroureterectomy Definition, Steps, Recovery, Indications, Complications

Nephroureterectomy as the name indicates is the surgery related to kidney. It is an invasive surgical procedure which is performed to remove ureter, bladder cuff, kidney and renal pelvis of patient. This surgery is performed in patient with transitional cell cancer.  Renal pelvis, ureter, bladder and kidney can also be removed with an open procedure but nephroureterectomy is recommended over open procedure. It has following benefits.

  • Recovery time is short in nephroureterectomy. 
  • Hospital stay is reduced and heals faster. 
  • Patient returns to his routine life very quickly. 
  • Patient feels less pain in nephroureterectomy. 
  • Nephroureterectomy leaves no scars or less scarring with small sized incisions. 

Nephroureterectomy Definition, Steps, Recovery, Indications, Complications

Nephroureterectomy Steps


There are some steps regarding pre-procedure, during procedure and after procedure. Before procedure, patient is asked to take liquid diet from previous night. Patient is also asked to stop taking any kind of medications before surgery. During surgery, anesthesia is given to the patient. A small incision is made and a camera is inserted inside the body through incision. The organs to be removed are separated from the surrounding nerves and then removed via that incision. After procedure, the patient is moved to the recovery room and then monitored for the side effects.

Nephroureterectomy Recovery


Nephroureterectomy is considered preferable instead of open procedure because of it's fastest recovery rate. The patient gets recover fast and start responding to the regular activities. The recovery time is shorter. Patient return to normal activities within days. After discharge from hospital, the patient is asked to avoid weight lifting and other activities for at least 2 weeks. And in some cases it may extend up to six weeks. Patient is asked to walk and do exercise for faster response. Most of the patients get completely recover within 4 weeks and can join their work again with same passion.

Nephroureterectomy Indications


Nephroureterectomy is performed basically for the cancer treatment. The cancer spreading in the renal pelvis, bladder, kidney and ureter. This procedure is performed to remove organs containing transitional cancer cells. The organs like kidney, ureter and bladder are covered with a lining of transitional epithelial cells. Nephroureterectomy is performed to remove this epithelial lining of transitional cancer cells from organs and it is also performed for upper urinary tract infection. These two conditions require nephroureterectomy because it is localized and requires little time for surgery. It is recommended because of it's fast recovery process after surgery and no scarring.

Nephroureterectomy Complications


Where there are various benefits of this surgery over open surgical procedure, there are some risks and complications also associated with this. As an incision is made to remove the organs from body. After surgery, the incision may turn in to a wound and may cause infection causing late recovery. So proper care is required for the incisional region. During surgery, the surrounding organs may become damage due to the incision. So a professional surgeon is required for the surgery. Last but not least, patient may develop incisional hernia because of negligence about the care of incision.
Nephroureterectomy Definition, Steps, Recovery, Indications, Complications Nephroureterectomy Definition, Steps, Recovery, Indications, Complications Reviewed by Simon Albert on January 26, 2019 Rating: 5
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