Looking forward to great‑grandchildren: The Heart Institute saves a patient with a complex kidney tumor

When Mrs. Olena came to the Heart Institute of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, her first words were: “I have a wonderful granddaughter, but I still want to live to see my great‑grandchildren. My complex kidney tumor is considered inoperable elsewhere, but I believe the Heart Institute can help.”

Her case was extremely challenging. The tumor of the right kidney had grown into the inferior vena cava and reached the heart. Coronary angiography also revealed critical narrowing of the coronary arteries.

Our endovascular surgeons first implanted two stents in the coronary arteries. Then, a multidisciplinary team of cardiac and oncological surgeons — together with Professor Borys Todurov, Director General of the Heart Institute, and Professor Mykhailo Zahriychuk, Head of the Department of Transplantation and Abdominal Surgery — performed a unique procedure: they removed the right kidney with the tumor, placed the patient on cardiopulmonary bypass, and excised the tumor thrombus from the heart and inferior vena cava.

The surgery was successful. Mrs. Olena is now being discharged home, where she will continue treatment under the supervision of oncologists.

We wish our heroine a smooth rehabilitation and, most importantly, the fulfillment of her dream — to live to see her great‑grandchildren.