Nephrectomy (nuh-FREK-tuh-me) is a surgical procedure to remove all or part of a kidney: 1  Complete nephrectomy. 2  During a complete (radical) nephrectomy, the surgeon removes the entire kidney.3  Partial nephrectomy. During a complete (radical) nephrectomy, the surgeon removes the entire kidney. 2  Partial nephrectomy. 3  In a partial nephrectomy, the surgeon removes diseased tissue from a kidney and leaves healthy tissue in place.