Post-Op Recovery Seems Very Slow

Hi,

I am 4 weeks post-op. I had a partial nephrectomy for stage 1 RCC last month. I still have a drain inserted in my side, still draining quite a bit of urine. My dr is talking about putting in a stent. He doesn't seem overly concerned with this development. I am getting very discouraged with the length of time it is taking for my kidney to "seal up" (his words). He tells me it is a relatively small, temporary price to pay for keeping the kidney.

I'm 43, mom of three teenagers, my husband just tells me to be patient.

Have any of you gone through similar recovery?

Thanks!

katskidney

I also had a partial nephrectomy and  I must say that I am surprised that your urologist did not warned you prior to the operation that  there is a possibility  that the kidney will no ”dry up”after surgery. In all the peer reviewed journals one can find statistics about the percentage of  kidneys  not "drying up". It does happen and it is not the end of the road.  My kidney “dried up” in two days.  Putting a stent  is a good way to deal with this problem. However, I would not wait that long. Seek a second opinion soon