Important: This page is general education, not personal medical advice.
What is robotic partial nephrectomy?
Robotic partial nephrectomy removes a kidney tumor while preserving as much healthy kidney tissue as possible. It is often used for localized kidney masses when nephron-sparing surgery is feasible.
Who may be a candidate?
- Localized renal mass suspicious for kidney cancer
- Tumor location/complexity amenable to partial nephrectomy
- Patients where preserving kidney function is especially important
- Patients healthy enough for surgery and anesthesia
Goals of surgery
- Remove the tumor with excellent cancer control
- Preserve kidney function by saving healthy kidney tissue
- Avoid overtreatment when full kidney removal is not necessary
Risks and trade-offs
- Bleeding, infection, urine leak, or need for additional procedures
- Possible conversion to radical nephrectomy in select intraoperative scenarios
- Injury to nearby structures (rare, case-specific risk)
- General anesthesia risks
Typical recovery timeline
- Hospital stay: often short (commonly 1–2 days, varies)
- Weeks 1–2: soreness/fatigue gradually improve
- Weeks 2–6: progressive return to normal activity per surgeon guidance
- Follow-up: pathology review + imaging/lab surveillance plan
Procedure video (real surgical footage)
Real operative footage. Viewer discretion advised.
Source video: Brigham and Women's Hospital robotic partial nephrectomy demonstration.
Questions to ask your surgeon
- Is partial nephrectomy recommended for my tumor size and location?
- What is the chance of needing complete kidney removal during surgery?
- What does my follow-up imaging and lab schedule look like?
- How might this affect long-term kidney function in my case?