Nephrectomy

Nephrectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of a kidney.

Indication

The removal of the kidney is performed, for example, due to irreversible renal damage in congenital anomalies, chronic inflammation or renal tumors. Also kidney removed for kidney donation.

Method

The kidney is usually removed via a flank incision in open surgery. For some time now but nephrectomies performed laparoscopically assisted. Here, the kidney is dissected laparoscopically free and then recovered through a skin incision in the abdomen.

History

The Heidelberger surgeon Gustav Simon succeeded on August 2, 1869, the first successful nephrectomy in the world. Previously, he had trained to engage in animal testing. He thus demonstrated that a healthy kidney may take over only the urinary excretion in man completely.