While eating sweet soup, had stomach cramps, went to the hospital for examination and discovered kidney cancer

While eating a cup of sweet soup, Mr. H. had a stomach ache and was taken to the hospital. The doctor at the lower level discovered that he had a tumor in the middle of his kidney, suspected of being cancerous.

From Vung Tau ward (HCMC), Mr. H. and his wife took a bus to a large hospital in the city for a check-up. The results showed a kidney tumor as initially diagnosed. “The doctor said the tumor was very large and needed immediate surgery. I was surprised because I had always been healthy and had no illnesses,” said Mr. H.

Mr. H. and his wife went to Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for another check-up. The CT scan results showed that Mr. Hien had a 6 cm tumor in his left kidney, located in the middle third of the kidney, deep into the renal sinus, suspected of being renal cell carcinoma, a common type of kidney cancer.

“If partial nephrectomy is performed, there is a risk of not being able to completely remove the tumor due to its large size, damaging the structures inside the renal sinus such as the renal blood vessels and renal pelvis. Therefore, the safest and most effective treatment method is laparoscopic radical nephrectomy. With the support of robots, the surgery will be more convenient and the blood vessels in the renal hilum will be better treated,” said Master - Doctor Nguyen Tan Cuong, Deputy Head of the Department of Urology, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City.

Doctor Cuong and his team performed laparoscopic surgery with robot-assisted radical nephrectomy through the abdomen for Mr. H. On the first day after surgery, Mr. H. recovered, sat up and ate a little porridge. The small abdominal incision caused little pain, and the doctor discharged him 2 days later.

Doctor examined and advised Mr. H. on post-operative care before discharge.

Photo: BVCC

Laparoscopic nephrectomy helps to completely remove cancer

According to Master - Doctor Nguyen Tan Cuong, renal cell cancer is the most common type of cancer, accounting for about 85% of kidney cancer cases. In the early stages, the disease is often asymptomatic, often discovered by chance through ultrasound or CT scan. When symptoms such as blood in urine, lower back pain, fever of unknown origin, palpable abdominal mass appear, the cancer has progressed, may have invaded around the kidney and metastasized to the lymph nodes or other organs.

Tumor removal surgery (partial nephrectomy or nephrectomy) is the most effective treatment in the early stages, when the tumor is smaller than 5 cm. For tumors larger than 5 cm located deep in the kidney, close to the renal pedicle as in Mr. H's case, partial nephrectomy has a high risk of leaving cancer cells in the cut area, bleeding due to damage to the large blood vessels of the kidney and many other post-operative complications. Laparoscopic nephrectomy is the appropriate choice to help completely remove cancer and reduce the risk of surgical complications.

For patients who have had one kidney removed like Mr. H., it is necessary to pay attention to protecting the remaining kidney to maintain health. Follow a healthy diet, limit salty foods, foods high in animal protein, supplement green vegetables and fruits, limit alcohol, beer, and cigarettes because they can harm the kidneys, exercise regularly... Follow a regular health check-up schedule, check kidney function to detect abnormalities early, do not arbitrarily use non-prescription drugs, herbal medicines of unknown origin that can harm the kidneys.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dang-an-che-dau-quan-bung-vao-benh-vien-kham-phat-hien-ung-thu-than-185250826131958278.htm