Testicular cancer surgery
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
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Overview
Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for testicular cancer.
Surgery
Radical inguinal orchiectomy
- Radical inguinal orchiectomy is the first treatment for any stage of testicular cancer and it is usually done as part of diagnosis.
- A testicular prosthesis, or artificial testicle, can be placed in the scrotum after an orchiectomy. The prosthesis may be placed at the same time as surgery to remove the testicle, or it can be placed during another surgery done later.
Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection
- Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) may be done for stage I and II non-seminomas or for any type of testicular cancer that doesn’t respond to chemotherapy.
- While you are under general anesthesia, the surgeon makes a large cut in the middle of the abdomen. The surgeon removes lymph nodes from the back of the abdomen. If the surgeon removes lymph nodes from the same side of the body as the tumor, it is called ipsilateral RPLND. If the surgeon removes lymph nodes from both sides of the body, it is called bilateral RPLND.
- RPLND may be done at the same time as an orchiectomy, or it can be done later during another surgery.
Salvage surgery
- Sometimes testicular cancer doesn’t completely respond to chemotherapy that is given after an orchiectomy. The cancer that remains after these primary treatments is called residual disease. Surgery used to remove residual disease is called salvage surgery.