Expanded renal pelvis: how scary is it?

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Expanded renal pelvis: how scary is it?
Expanded renal pelvis: how scary is it?
Anonim

What to do if you are told that you or your child has an enlarged renal pelvis? Many are very afraid of such a diagnosis. How justified are these fears? This article is devoted to these issues.

The pelvis of the kidney is enlarged. What does this mean?

dilated renal pelvis
dilated renal pelvis

Expansion of the pelvis is called pyelectasis. If the kidney enlarges as a result of this process, hydronephrosis is diagnosed. This is the name of the disease, as a result of which the pelvis increases and expands. The kidney tissue is destroyed, which ultimately causes dysfunction of the affected organ. The disease appears due to a violation of the outflow of urine from the affected pelvis. As a result, failures occur with blood circulation in the kidney tissues. More often women and children suffer from this disease.

Increased renal pelvis in a child

the renal pelvis is dilated in the fetus
the renal pelvis is dilated in the fetus

In children, the disease usually affects only the right or left kidney. Bilateral hydronephrosis develops very rarely, usually against the background of urological pathologies. The disease can be both congenital and acquired. In the first case, the cause of its appearance is the abnormal (incorrect) development of the upper urinary tract. In the second case, as a result of past diseases, such as kidney stones, tumors of the prostate or urinary tract, changes in the urinary system of an inflammatory nature or other urological pathologies, the pelvis of the kidney may be expanded.

Course of illness

Regardless of whether the disease is congenital or acquired, it can be infected or aseptic. The disease proceeds in 3 stages. At the first stage, the pelvis of the kidney is enlarged, the functions of the organ are partially impaired. At the second stage, in addition to the pelvis, the calyx also expands, the tissues of the kidney become thinner, the functions of the affected organ are seriously impaired. The third stage is characterized by an extremely sharp thinning of the kidney tissues and a very strong disruption of the affected organ.

The renal pelvis is dilated in the fetus

enlarged renal pelvis in a child
enlarged renal pelvis in a child

Disease in children is more often congenital. It can occur due to compression or narrowing of the ureter or its incorrect position. Such pathologies lead to disruption of the normal outflow of urine. Often such a deviation is observed already during pregnancy. The disease is diagnosed by ultrasound, starting at 20 weeks. During this period, it can be concluded that the pelvis of the kidney is enlarged, but the diagnosis is not made in all cases, since most often the pathology disappears on its own as the fetus develops. Nothing can be done during pregnancy. After birth, on the 3rd day, you need to undergo an ultrasound scan. In severe cases, hospitalization is required. When the baby is 2 weeks old, a urogram may be ordered to assess the patency of the ureter. In newborns, the signal of the disease is an increase in the tummy and the presence of blood in the urine. At an early age, the disease is very easy to treat. Most often, surgery is not required. In order for the treatment to be successful, and the disease no longer bothers the baby, it is important to make a timely diagnosis and follow all the recommendations of the attending doctor.

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