I have a question that I hope someone can answer. My father-in-law had his left kidney removed due to cancer in april of this year. The cancer was contained to the kidney. A few weeks after being home, following surgery, he began to lose weight and his abdomen swelled up. After many, many tests, and no answers, he went to a major hospital in chicago. There he was told it was fluid buildup in his abdominal cavity due to something tiny(the size of a hair), that was severed during his nephrectomy. The drs there said no one did anything wrong, but that it is just one of the risks(a very rare risk) associated with kidney removal surgery. My in-laws are older and are not nearly as aggressive as I would be when talking to the drs. My question is "have any of you heard of anything like this?" I have asked several times what was severed and my in-laws just say they aren't sure what it was called. They did drain 3 1/2 liters of fluid off of him and sent him home a few days later ,but it's been 2 weeks and he is rapidly filling up again. He can't eat much, has difficulty getting a full breath, and has lost 35 lbs. Since april. I thought if I could maybe find something online it would help us to understand what is going on. The drs. Initially said that it should clear up on its own, but if not, there is a surgery to correct it. Now that it isn't clearing up, my father in-law contacted the Dr. And was told that he knows of no one that has ever done the surgery or even heard of anyone doing it. This isn't some small town hospital, but a major one that people go to get answers. Any help or ideas on where to go for info. Would be appreciated.