What is a nephrectomy? Nephrectomy (nephro = kidney, ectomy = removal) is the surgical removal of a kidney. The procedure is done to treat kidney cancer as well as other kidney diseases and injuries. Nephrectomy is also done to remove a healthy kidney from a donor (either living or deceased) for transplantation. Nephrectomy (nuh-FREK-tuh-me) is a surgical procedure to remove all or part of a kidney: Radical (complete) nephrectomy: during a radical nephrectomy, the urologic surgeon removes the entire kidney and often some additional... read full review »