Kidney removal, also called nephrectomy, is a surgical procedure to remove a kidney.

This surgery is done under general anesthesia (asleep and pain-free). The surgeon makes a cut in the abdomen or in the side of the abdomen (flank area). A rib may need to be removed to perform the procedure.

The ureter (the tube that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder) and the blood vessels are cut away from the kidney and the kidney is removed. The cut is then closed.

Kidney removal may be done as open surgery, which involves a large cut in the side of the abdomen. Some patients may have laparoscopic surgery, which is less invasive and involves three or four small cuts, usually no more than an inch each, in the abdominal and flank areas.

Kidney removal may be recommended for:

• Birth defects (congenital abnormalities)
• Injury (trauma)
• Infection
• Hypertension
• Tumor
• Chronic bleeding

Kidney removal is also performed on someone who donates a kidney for a kidney transplant.

Risks for any anesthesia include the following:

• Reactions to medications
• Problems breathing

• Bleeding
• Infection