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The kidneys are two large, bean-shaped organs located to the left and the right of an individual’s backbone which function to filter the blood moving through an individual’s body. The kidneys remove both waste products and extra water from the blood that passes through them, combining them to create urine, which is transported to the bladder through tubes known as ureters.1
Although the kidneys are highly sophisticated, there are certain conditions that can disrupt them from performing their necessary work. The kidneys can become blocked as a result of kidney stones or tumors forming within them. The most common treatment option available to patients with kidney stones or kidney cancer involves surgery to remove either the blockage or the kidney itself. Surgery to remove a blockage from the kidney is called pyeloplasty, and surgery to remove the actual kidney is called a nephrectomy.
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