Radical nephrectomy via epidural-only anesthesia.

We present what we believe is, to the best of our knowledge, the first report of open radical nephrectomy performed under epidural-only anesthesia. Our patient had localized renal cell carcinoma requiring open nephrectomy, but he also had comorbid emphysema that precluded general anesthesia. Epidural anesthesia, which bypassed the pulmonary system, allowed us to perform the surgery.