kidney
Kidney cancer
Each year, there are over 3,800 new cases of kidney cancer in men, and over 2,300 cases in women. Kidney cancer accounts for just over two percent of all new cancers diagnosed in the UK.
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs on either side of the spine just above the waist. Their main function is to filter blood and rid the body of excess water, salt and waste products.
About four in five cases of kidney cancer affect the tubes inside the kidney that carry out this filtering.
A rare form of kidney cancer is Wilms tumour, which occurs in childhood. If kidney cancer is not treated, cancer cells can break away from the original site and spread to other parts of the body.
Laparoscopic Kidney Surgery
Richard Hindley specialises in laparoscopic (keyhole) kidney surgery, including kidney removal for cancer (radical nephrectomy).
At the Pelican we now have the equipment to investigate the use of minimally invasive treatments for kidney cancer. It is hoped that in the future this may include High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) for the laparoscopic destruction of small kidney tumours, obviating the need to remove them. Currently small tumours unsuitable for surgery are treated by radiofrequency ablation.
Further information can be found here: www.cancerhelp.org.
