What To Do....

I wrote a few months ago right afer my dad's surgery.

As it turns out, my dad is now having pain near his ribs on the
left side (same side as removed kidney). We also found out
from reading the surgerical records that he had some cardiac
problems and his adernal gland was removed. Not to mention
having a lawsuit, but the real problem is my dad. He loves his
doctor, but everyone else thinks he needs a new one.

Has any one experienced this with a family member?

The doctor apparently told my dad they "may have disturbed"
his ribs during the surgery. I guess this would explain the chest
tube!! What does your rib have to do with your kidney? Is this
common??

He doens't have an oncologist, only a urologist. Do most
people get an oncologist? am so scared for my dad and am
trying to think of ways to make him get a second opinion.

I am really lost! Please help!

Dear Lauri,

I looked up your previous message. I assume that you Dad has had his stent out, and is otherwise doing well.

It is normal for a rib to be disturbed during open kidney surgery, probably more so during an ooen partial. The kidneys are located under the rib cage, and the ribs nead to be spread, (and sometimes one is removed) so the surgeon can get access to the kidneys.

Since your Dad had a partial I will assume that his kidney tumor was small, the surgical margins were clear of tumor, and the cancer had not spread beyond the kidney, and that he had had CT scans of his abdomen and chest around the time of his surgery to make sure that the cancer had not spread. If he has not had CTs, he should have them now; if he did have them at the time of surgery, he should have another set done six months after surgery. As long as the scans don't show that the cancer has returned, (and scans are being ordered periodically) your Dad should be fine with his urologist. Urologists are primarily surgeons, and do not have the training to administer post-surgical treatment that the oncologists do, but as long as your father needs no further treatment, he'll be fine with his urologist.


If follow-up scans are being done, and are clean, your father probably does not need an oncologist. Scans should be repeated periodically for the rest of his life. Kidney cancer has a nasty habit of occasionally recurring many years after successful surgery, but when it does this it is usually cureable by surgery if caught quickly. If there are ever any signs on his scans that the cancer has returned, he should see an oncologist that has experience in treating kidney cancer patients; he can find one near him by calling the Kidney Cancer Association at 800-850-9132. Kidney cancer is relatively rare, and many oncologists see few kidney cancer patients. Kidney cancer is also resistant to conventional chemo and radiation, but good treatments do exist, and will more likely be successful if directed by an oncologist with experience in treating kidney cancer patients.

There is an email support list specific to kidney cancer. See http://cancerguide.org/kofaq/ to correspond with other caregivers and/or kidney cancer patients about treatment, doctors, etc.

My mother went thru a complete kidney removal, so this is a little different, but she was having pain on the side where the surgery was and during a CT scan they found that she had developed a lymphocele. It is a pocket of fluid collecting and it put pressure on her ribs, back, leg. She had this drained and now is completely fine.
If there is any chance of the cancer having spread I would definately recommend finding a kidney cancer specialist, not just an oncologist.
Don't let it go if he is in pain. Keep on the surgeon to find out why. I have found that if our loved ones are complaining of pain, follow up on it. Never let it go, quality of life is important, just because they beat cancer doesn't mean they should have to suffer with some simple complications afterward.
I hope this helped, I will keep checking back to see if you update. Good luck