daVinci Robotic Partial Nephrectomy

A robotic partial nephectomy removes a tumor from the rest of the kidney leaving the remaining kidney intact and functioning. 

A tumor of the kidney, kidney cancer, forms from the part of the kidney that filters the blood called the renal parenchyma. The part of the kidney that receives the urine and transports it to the bladder (calyces, renal pelvis, ureters) we will call the collecting system.

A tumor of the the kidney can present small or large, on the surface or deeper within the kidney. Fortunately many tumors are found small enough to consider a removal of just the tumor and not the whole kidney. 

An exophytic tumor (on the surface) can be removed safely if the tumor is small enough.

An endophytic tumor is more difficult to remove due to the proximity of the collecting system as well as the blood vessels that enter the kidney in that area.

During a robotic partial nephrectomy the artery to the kidney is clamped and the tumor dissected off of the kidney. The defect created is then closed with suture. Below is a video from intuitive surgical showing the steps. 

The partial nephrectomy carries some risk. Bleeding, infection, failure to remove all of the tumor, cancer recurrence, loss of the entire kidney, pain, incisional issues such as hernia, anesthetic complications and potential other unforseen risks exist for this procedure.