What to check after kidney cancer surgery

Kidney cancer is a malignant tumor of the urinary tubular epithelial cells in the kidney parenchyma. The academic term is renal cell carcinoma, also known as renal adenocarcinoma, or renal cancer for short. Kidney cancer is a relatively common malignant tumor of the kidney parenchyma. This disease brings pain to patients and directly threatens their health and life. Many patients ignore the symptoms of the disease in the early stages of the disease, and when they see a doctor, it is in the late stage, which makes it very difficult to treat. So what should be reviewed after kidney cancer surgery?

1. About one week after surgery, kidney cancer patients should go to the hospital to have a doctor check the healing of the wound, understand the postoperative pathological results and prognosis, and discuss further auxiliary treatment plans with the doctor.

2. Patients with kidney cancer should go to the hospital 4 to 6 weeks after surgery to check kidney function, recovery after blood loss, and whether there are any surgical complications. Patients who undergo partial nephrectomy should undergo a renal CT scan 4 to 6 weeks after surgery to understand the changes in kidney morphology and make comparisons for future follow-up examinations.

3. After postoperative treatment, patients should insist on long-term follow-up examinations, and a follow-up plan can be formulated according to the stage of renal cancer. Patients with early renal cancer (T1-T2 stage) are generally reviewed every 3 to 6 months for 3 consecutive years, and then once a year; patients with mid-to-late stage renal cancer (T3-T4 stage) are generally reviewed every 3 months for 2 consecutive years, every 6 months in the third year, and then once a year.

4. If there is no recurrence or metastasis of renal cancer within two years of follow-up, it indicates that the chance of long-term recurrence of renal cancer is small and the interval between outpatient follow-up can be appropriately extended.

5. Lymph node examination and laboratory tests (such as carcinoembryonic antigen, glycogen 125) can help check the condition and recovery status.

6. Patients should pay attention to whether they experience any abnormal phenomena such as weight loss, anemia, pain, cough, etc. Once any abnormal phenomena are found, they should return to the hospital for examination immediately to avoid recurrence.

7. For reexamination after kidney cancer surgery, color Doppler ultrasound can help you understand whether the tumor has recurred and whether the liver has metastasized. It is recommended to also perform a chest X-ray to check for lung metastasis. It is also possible to combine lymph node and laboratory tests (such as carcinoembryonic antigen, glycogen 125) to understand the progression of the disease.