Description

Hydronephrosis is swelling of one or both kidneys. This happens when urine cannot drain out from the kidney and accumulates in the kidney as a result. The condition may be due to a blockage in the tubes that drain urine from the kidneys. It can also occur due to a difference present at birth that prevents urine from draining properly. In some people, the hydronephrosis causes kidney damage over time.

Hydronephrosis can occur at any age. The condition often causes no symptoms. People who develop symptoms may have side and back pain, painful urination, vomiting, and fever. Health professionals have different ways to detect the presence of hydronephrosis. Tests to determine the condition can be done during childhood or sometimes before the baby is born.

Treatment for hydronephrosis depends on the condition of the cause. Some people need drugs or surgery to feel better and prevent kidney damage. Mild hydronephrosis sometimes goes away by itself with time.

Symptoms

Hydronephrosis often does not cause symptoms. But when symptoms do occur, they may include:

  • Pain in the side and the back, which can travel to the lower region of the abdomen or in the groin.
  • Pain with urination, or the sensation of needing to urinate is urgent or it happens often.
  • Upset stomach and vomiting.
  • Fever.
  • The growth retardation in infants.
  • The loss of weight or loss of appetite.
  • Blood in the urine.

When to see a doctor

Call your health care professional if you have any of the symptoms of hydronephrosis. Babies with this condition often have no symptoms. But putting your baby in a professional check immediately for symptoms such as high fever.

Causes

The causes of hydronephrosis include a lock or other health problem that affects the urinary tract. The urinary tract includes the kidneys and the bladder. The urine flows from the kidneys to the bladder through tubes called ureters. Urine leaves the bladder and the body through another tube called the urethra.

A partly or totally blocked in the urinary tract can prevent the urine leaving the kidneys and cause inflammation. Other problems that affect the urinary tract can cause urine to flow back through the ureters from the bladder to the kidneys. When the urine flows down the wrong path, the condition is known as vesicoureteral reflux.

The causes of hydronephrosis include the following:

  • The conditions that are present at birth.Some babies are born with a partial blockage of the kidney is called an obstruction of the ureteropelvic junction. Most often, the obstruction of the ways where the kidney attaches to one of the tubes that carry urine to the bladder. These tubes are called ureters. Other babies are born with a ureter that is not typical in the structure. The urine flows backwards through the ureter from the bladder to the kidney as a result. When backward flow of urine that occurs, it is known as vesicoureteral reflux.
  • Stones in the kidney. These are hard deposits of minerals and salts that form inside the kidneys.
  • Enlargement of the prostate. An enlarged prostate can cause the bladder to have problems emptying the urine. The urine can return back to the kidneys as a result.
  • Injured or narrowing of the ureter. Surgery of the pelvis done with the cuts through the area of the stomach may hurt a ureter by accident. A ureter may be reduced for reasons such as scarring after surgery or radiation therapy for prostate cancer.
  • Urinary tract infection. This type of infection can inflame any part of the urinary tract, including the kidneys.
  • Pregnancy. Inflammation of the kidneys, the urine drainage system is common during pregnancy. Often, the hydronephrosis in pregnant people it causes no symptoms and goes away after delivery.
  • Cancer. With some types of cancer, a tumor can cause a blockage in the urinary tract. These include cancers of the bladder, cervix, colon, and prostate.

The conditions that are present at birth. Some babies are born with a partial blockage of the kidney is called an obstruction of the ureteropelvic junction. Most often, the obstruction of the ways where the kidney attaches to one of the tubes that carry urine to the bladder. These tubes are called ureters.

Other babies are born with a ureter that is not typical in the structure. The urine flows backwards through the ureter from the bladder to the kidney as a result. When backward flow of urine that occurs, it is known as vesicoureteral reflux.

Risk factors

Hydronephrosis risk factors among adults between the ages of 20 to 60, which include being born a woman. The increased risk could be due to certain conditions that affect the uterus, such as during pregnancy. It could also be due to conditions that affect the ovaries, cysts, accumulations of pus and the cancer. The risk factors for people over 60 years of age include having an enlarged prostate or an obstruction in the urinary tract cancer.

Complications

Hydronephrosis can lead to other health problems called complications. Without treatment, some people who have severe hydronephrosis develop long-lasting kidney damage. Rarely, the condition can cause a kidney affected to lose their ability to filter the blood, also called kidney failure.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis involves the steps that your health care team takes to find out if the hydronephrosis is the cause of your symptoms. Your health care professional will start by asking about your symptoms and do a physical exam. You may be referred to a doctor called a urologist, which detects and treats conditions of the urinary system.

Tests that can help find out if you have the hydronephrosis may include:

  • A blood test to check how well your kidneys work.
  • A urine test to look for clues that the infection or kidney stones may be the cause of a crash.
  • A picture of ultrasound examination in view of the kidneys, the bladder and other parts of the urinary tract. This test can help detect potential health problems.
  • An X-ray examination of the urinary tract that uses a special dye to the contour of the kidneys, the ureters, the bladder and the urethra. This test is called a CT urogram. Captures images of the urinary tract before and after urination.

Your healthcare provider may also suggest another imaging test, such as an mri. Another testing option is called a MAG3 renal scan checks the function and drainage.

During pregnancy, a routine ultrasound test often spots of hydronephrosis in unborn babies.

Treatment

Treatment for hydronephrosis depends on its cause and severity of the symptoms. The goal of treatment is to relieve inflammation of the kidney and prevent kidney damage. You may need medicine, a process to drain urine, or surgery. In some people, mild hydronephrosis that disappears in your own time.

Drugs

Your healthcare provider may prescribe medicine to help relieve the pain. Some people need medications called antibiotics to treat the urinary tract infection. Sometimes, infants with hydronephrosis are given antibiotics to prevent infections. Often, babies do not need another treatment. Often have mild hydronephrosis to get the best results in your own. The test image can track your health over time.

Surgery or other procedures

Sometimes, surgery is needed to correct an obstruction or to correct the reflux of the urine. Surgery may also be done to relieve the terrible pain, or vomiting of hydronephrosis.

Surgery may be an option for treatment of hydronephrosis caused by conditions such as:

  • Stones in the kidney.
  • Enlargement of the prostate.
  • Blocked or narrowing of the ureter.
  • Cancer.

Some people also need to have in excess of urine drained from the body. A healthcare professional does this by placing a thin tube, called a catheter into the bladder.

The early treatment for hydronephrosis help many people to get better. It also helps to prevent lasting damage to the kidney.

Preparing for your appointment

You can start by seeing your primary health care provider. Or you may be referred to a doctor who is called a urologist who lies and treats diseases of the urinary tract.

Here's some information to help you prepare for your appointment.

What you can do

When you make the appointment, ask if there is something that you need to do beforehand. For example, you may need to stop eating to a certain number of hours before a test. Also, it helps to make a list of:

  • Its symptoms, including those that do not seem to be related to the reason for your appointment.
  • Key personal information, including major stresses, recent life changes and family medical history.
  • All the drugs, vitamins, and other supplements you are taking, including the dosage.
  • Questions to ask your health care professional.

Have a family member or friend if you can. This person can help you remember the information they give you.

For hydronephrosis, some basic questions to ask your health care professional include:

  • What is likely causing my symptoms? There are other possible causes?
  • What tests do I need?
  • Is my condition likely to be short-term or long-term?
  • What treatment is right for me? There are other treatment options as well?
  • I have other health conditions. How can I best manage them together?
  • There are restrictions that must be followed?
  • You should see a specialist?
  • Are there brochures or other printed material I can have? What sites do you recommend?

Feel free to ask questions.

What to expect from your doctor

Your healthcare provider will likely ask questions such as:

  • When did the symptoms begin?
  • Do your symptoms occur some of the time or all the time?
  • How bad are the symptoms?
  • What, if anything, seems to improve your symptoms?
  • What, if anything, appears to worsen your symptoms?
Symptoms and treatment of Hydronephrosis