Removal Of One Kidney

my boy friend just had his right kidney removed he was diagnosed with kidney tumor and since after the operation he is been having so much pain he is been back to the hospital three different times they do all kinds of test they still can not determine why he is in so much pain and his feet are swollen he could not urinate his abdomen is blodded every time he eat something, basically every week it 's a different symptoms, I'm so afraid that I'm going to lose him and Doctor 's are not coming with a answer. Please help

first off i hope your boyfriend is feeling better. i wish him a speedy recovery.

here are some thoughts off the top of my head based on the scant information you provided. i may be off base about some things because i do not have his records to review.

if kidney cancers are found early and the kidney is removed, usually the patient is cured. if the cancer has spread before it is found, removing the kidney does not prolong life span. the kidney is left in place, the oncologist will give chemotherapy and possibly radiation, and eventually the patient will die.
It is therefore vitally important to do a staging workup to find out if the cancer has spread before doing unnecessary surgery. one test to see if his doctors are competent - did they send him for a staging workup, such as a PET scan?

it is also very important to know the function of the non-cancerous kidney. if the kidney is not in good shape, such as in diabetics, dialysis will be needed.

you talked about pain. immediately following surgery, for about a week, the pain is moderate but controllable with analgesics. for the next couple of weeks the pain improves. in a month there is just a bit of soreness. i have never seen the pain you described, ever, in patients having a kidney removed.

ankle/foot swelling, called edema, can be due to things like renal failure or heart failure. Not urinating can be renal failure.

i am going to assume that they tested and found his remaining kidney to be normal before surgery, otherwise they would have told him about dialysis and you would have mentioned dialysis in your note. so BEFORE surgery his other kidney was fine. AFTER surgery he has ankle swelling and not urinating, both signs of kidney failure. My best guess is they screwed up badly and ruined his remaining kidney at surgery.

there are good surgeons, marginal surgeons, and dangerous surgeons. i could tell you stories about surgeons who are beyond incompetent. i guess any field is going to be like that. but at least if your contractor or mechanic is incompetent, all you lose is your new deck or your car.

my advice to anyone who is going to have such surgery in the future is to get a second opinion from a major university teaching hospital with a reputation for excellence. Somewhere on this message board I listed the top 10 places in the country. Certainly one of them has to be close to you.

my advice to your boyfriend is that he needs to go elsewhere to find out what they did to him, as it is unlikely they will tell him for fear of malpractice. Johns Hopkins would be an excellent choice, although anyplace on that list of 10 top places should be good. Usually it is very hard to get stubborn people to get a second opinion. Having trust in your physician when they are competent and not trying to sell you on something is fine. After a surgery that went badly, leading to complications such as you described, I am guessing his trust in his doctors is misplaced. Go see someone competent.

Thank you very much for your advice Amnia every body is thinking the same thing "unnecessary surgery" I going to take this to him so we can discuss that with his doctor in the meantime if you know any thing else Please do not hesitate to let me know because I'm looking for answers. Thanks

I had a kidney and ureter removed 3 years ago this month for bladder cancer, TCC. High Grade, etc.etc. My treatment was excellent and I had a great surgeon at a community hospital.

I do have back pain in the side the kidney was removed, a CT scan showed the bowel is outside the cavity and that does cause pain. My doctors tell me to be careful since a bowel obstruction would be very dangerous.

have a similar case to yours wondering what treatments you got. glad to see you're doing well.removed kidney and ureter in november. looking for best follow up or some insight from a fellow traveler along this path.

I had cisplatin and gemszar chemo for six months. Because of the rarity of the bladder cancer in kidney and ureter not many known choices of things to do. I had a great Urologist and  Cancer Conference Team at my hospital and this is what they recommended. Had it confirmed at Moffit Cancer Center in Tampa Florida.  In 2005 had a very superficial small cancer removed from the bladder treated locally  had not attached to the bladder wall.  Have cystoscopy every six months, MRI spine (have 4 lesions on spine we are watching - brain MRI showed no mets) and 3 lesions 3mm in lung we are watching)  Praise God. 

I have CAT Scans and MRI of spine every six months.  although because of contrast media and one kidney we are going to cut back on everything but the lung scans... 

I am doing wonderful and give all the glory, praise and honor to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!!  Merry Christmas and GOd bless you.  I will pray for you.