Nephrectomy Health Dictionary

A condition in which a kidney becomes swollen with urine as a result of an obstruction in the urinary tract. Many people with hydronephrosis have a congenital narrowing of the ureter. The obstruction of a ureter may be caused by a stone (see calculus, urinary tract), a kidney tumour, or a blood clot. Occasionally, hydronephrosis is caused by obstruction to the outflow of urine from the bladder by an enlarged prostate gland (see prostate, enlarged).Acute hydronephrosis, with sudden blockage of the ureter, causes severe pain in the loin. Chronic hydronephrosis, in which the obstruction develops slowly, may cause no symptoms until total blockage results in kidney failure. If the blockage can be removed surgically, the kidney is likely to function normally again. Occasionally, however, a kidney is so badly damaged that it requires removal (see nephrectomy).... hydronephrosis

(peritoneoscopy) n. examination of the abdominal structures (which are contained within the peritoneum) by means of a *laparoscope. This is passed through a small incision in the wall of the abdomen after insufflating carbon dioxide into the abdominal cavity (creating a *pneumoperitoneum). Laparoscopy enables visual assessment of abdominal organs, harvesting of biopsies, and cancer staging. Therapeutic uses include aspiration of cysts, division of adhesions, and surgery that would previously have required *laparotomy. Examples include *hysterectomy, *cholecystectomy, *fundoplication, *prostatectomy, *colectomy, *nephrectomy, *oophorectomy, Fallopian tube ligation, and ova collection for *in vitro fertilization. See also minimally invasive surgery. —laparoscopic adj.... laparoscopy

(Wilms’ tumour) n. a malignant tumour arising from the embryonic kidney and occurring in young children, usually below the age of three and rarely over the age of eight. In approximately 5% of cases it involves both kidneys. Treatment consists of removing the kidney (see nephrectomy) and giving chemotherapy and sometimes radiotherapy. Although almost half the cases have spread by the time diagnosis is made, this does not prevent a cure: the number of children that survive at least five years after diagnosis is improving, being currently around 75%. In some children the tumour is associated with an abnormality of chromosome number 13; in these cases other features, such as absence of the iris in the eye (see aniridia) and *hemihypertrophy, are present. In other cases there is an association with congenital nephropathy and intersex disorders (see Denys-Drash syndrome).... nephroblastoma

a collection of pus around the kidney, usually secondary to *pyonephrosis but also resulting from spread of infection from other sites. It is more likely to occur in individuals who are immunosuppressed or have diabetes mellitus. Percutaneous or open surgical drainage are usually necessary but occasionally nephrectomy may be needed if the kidney is severely infected.... perinephric abscess

n. obstruction and infection of the kidney resulting in pus formation. A kidney stone is the usual cause of the obstruction, and the kidney becomes distended by pus and destroyed by the inflammation, which extends into the kidney substance itself and sometimes into the surrounding tissues (see perinephritis). Treatment is urgent *nephrectomy under antibiotic cover.... pyonephrosis

n. surgical removal of a ureter. This usually includes removal of the associated kidney as well (see nephroureterectomy). If previous nephrectomy has been performed to remove a kidney that has been destroyed by *vesicoureteric reflux or because of a tumour of the renal pelvis, subsequent ureterectomy may be necessary to cure reflux into the stump of the ureter or tumour in the ureter, respectively. Less commonly, in certain cases an isolated segment of a ureter may be removed for a short ureteric stricture or ureteric tumour.... ureterectomy