A Unique Case in Onconeurology

N. Lopatkin SRIUIR performed surgery on a patient with an extremely rare diagnosis: tumor formation in a functionally dead kidney.

The patient with an extremely rare diagnosis: a tumor mass was operated on in N. Lopatkin Scientific Research Institute of Urology and Interventional Radiology (SRIUIR) –  the branch of the FSBI “National Medical Research Radiological Centre” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.

The 46-year-old woman had been suffering from chronic glomerulonephritis and renal failure stage 5 for a long time. As the operating surgeon, oncologist of oncologic-urologic department, Ph.d of medical Sciences Oleg Vladimirovich Osipov noted that her kidneys could not filter blood, and all toxins remained in the body.

In September 2023 at the place of residence the patient was installed arteriovenous fistula, and she began to receive hemodialysis procedure of blood purification from toxins. The toxin elimination process started and everything would have been fine, but at the check-up she was found to have a tumor on her left kidney.

The situation was very confusing for the doctors, because the patient’s kidney could be called functionally dead, and the tumor most often occurs in places with a good blood supply. To clarify the diagnosis and treatment tactics, doctors sent the woman to the N. Lopatkin Scientific Research Institute of Urology and Interventional Radiology as one of the leading scientific centers specializing in the treatment of diseases of the genitourinary system. In addition, it has both an oncology and hemodialysis department, which simplifies the treatment process.

The patient was diagnosed with first stage left kidney cancer and hospitalized. Oleg Vladimirovich Osipov and Pavel Leonidovich Penkov, an oncologist of the oncourology department, masterfully performed a laparoscopic nephrectomy on the left side, i.e. removed the affected kidney. It is impossible not to note the professionalism of the surgeons, because the peculiarity of the operation in hemodialysis patients is increased bleeding of tissues: blood, simply put, “liquefies”, and any unnecessary movement can lead to a large loss of blood. Experienced specialists managed to carry out the operation from start to finish without any difficulties.

The patient will need 4 days for recovery, and on the 5th day she will go home. Such surgeries are very comfortable, there are no large incisions and no “pulling of the side”, the patient can quickly return to their usual activities.

“The biggest reward for the doctor is, of course, the patient’s speedy recovery and discharge. I believe that everything will get better for the patient, we will watch her, wait and do a kidney transplant”, commented Oleg Osipov.