Leo Fights Like a Lion to Beat Stage 5 Kidney Cancer

Dr. Troutman and Dr. Kolon worked together to devise the best plan for Leo. Dr. Kolon worked with CHOP’s pediatric radiologist, Susan Back, MD, and colleagues in CHOP radiology to formulate 3D models of Leo’s kidneys. The models would aid in deciding on and performing nephron-sparing surgery.

“Because of how intricately the multiple tumors involved critical structure of his right kidney, Leo needed a nephrectomy – a complete removal of the kidney,” Dr. Troutman says. “Dr. Kolon and I agreed that the best plan for Leo was for him to have Dr. Kolon remove his right kidney first. We would then give his body time to adjust to the changes. Leo would do a round of chemo at the Children’s Cancer Center and then he would return to CHOP in six weeks for Dr. Kolon to perform the kidney-sparing surgery on his left kidney.”

After the successful removal of his right kidney and just shy of six weeks of chemo, Leo was getting geared up for surgery No. 2. But then, a week before the second surgery date, Leo got the flu.

Because you can’t go under anesthesia if you have a respiratory infection, such as the flu, the surgery team at CHOP postponed Leo’s surgery in hopes of scheduling a new surgery date in four to six weeks. In the meantime, Leo would receive chemo. Ahead of the next surgery, Leo would need to have new scans done to make sure there were no big changes.

A month later, Dr. Troutman’s team performed Leo’s ultrasound as a precursor to the second surgery and then sent the scans to Dr. Kolon for review.

“The scans revealed significant improvement in the tumor on Leo’s left kidney,” Dr. Kolon says. “There was a very tiny area left on his left kidney that I wanted to keep an eye on, but I was fairly certain it was scar tissue (nephrogenic rest – a cancer precursor) from the chemotherapy, not an active tumor. Because of how well the chemo worked, surgery was no longer required.”

The surgery was canceled. The new plan was for Leo to have a follow-up MRI in one month. During that time, Leo would continue receiving chemotherapy and begin radiation.