Less invasive form of surgery helps people with kidney problems People with kidney troubles already have plenty of problems. It adds insult to injury that surgery to remove part or all of a kidney can put someone to bed for several weeks. A week later, he felt well enough to walk around his yard. That means far less intrusion into the patient's body. Porter is an assistant professor of urology in the UW School of Medicine.
Carbon dioxide is pumped into the body to give the surgeon room to work.
The surgeon can then remove the kidney in a couple of different ways. If the kidney needs to come out whole for testing, the surgeon can pull it through an incision of 3 to 4 inches, or less. If the kidney does not need to come out whole, the surgeon can dissect the organ and remove it through the original half-inch incision. Laparoscopic surgery has been around for a number of years. It has only been in the last few years that doctors in some parts of the country have used it to remove kidneys.