- According to the Comer Children's Hospital, hydronephrosis can be caused from a ureteropelvic junction obstruction, called UPJ obstruction. This condition results from a narrowing at the point where the ureter leaves the kidney. Hydronephrosis caused by UPJ obstruction tends to occur before the fourth month of fetal development. Enlarged kidneys in children also can be caused by blockage at the lower end of the ureter. The ureter might be covered with a thin membrane that prevents drainage of urine into the bladder, or the ureter might enter the bladder in an abnormal area. Hydronephrosis also can be caused a backward flow, or reflux, of urine into the ureter and kidneys.
- If your child is diagnosed with enlarged kidneys or hydronephrosis, she will undergo examination by a pediatric urologist. In children with mild hydronephrosis or enlarged kidneys due to reflux of urine, observational therapy with antibiotic treatment usually successfully treats the condition while the kidney problems correct themselves as the child grows. Moderate and severe cases of hydronephrosis usually require surgery to correct blockage. Hydronephrosis surgery is safely performed with robotic surgical methods or by minimally invasive techniques through small incisions.
- Enlarged kidney abnormalities in children have not been linked to anything parents might have done during pregnancy, but there can be hereditary factors in such abnormalities. Hydronephrosis is usually evident during prenatal ultrasound evaluations, but in other cases it is not evident until birth or later in childhood.
- According to Dr. Alan Greene, 20 percent to 35 percent of prenatal hydronephrosis cases are resolved before birth. At least 93 percent of children who experience prenatal hydronephrosis that continues after birth experience complete resolution of the abnormalities over time and do not suffer any loss of kidney function because of the condition, he states. Greene says only 7 percent of children with persistent prenatal hydronephrosis conditions need surgery to correct the problem. They suffered no loss of kidney function.
- If left untreated, hydronephrosis and enlarged kidneys in children can cause severe, progressive kidney damage. Arrange an appointment with a pediatric urologist to discuss a treatment plan to prevent unnecessary complications and possible permanent damage to your baby's kidneys.
