Renal dilation

[Scarednewmum2be]

Hi ladies, at my 20 week scan I was told that one of my baby's kidneys was slightly dilated. I had follow up scan yesterday at 28 weeks and it is still dilated and wider than the other kidney so I've been advised that I'll need a further scan at a fetal unit. I'm worried sick. I've read online that it can correct itself but worried that it's the cause of another underlying condition. It's my first baby. And all other organs were completely normal but this has really worried me. Has anyone been in this situation? We did not want to find out what we were having as wanted a surprise however I've read this is more common in boys than girls. Does this mean we're definitely having a boy? I don't mind as long as our baby is healthy however we didn't want the surprise ruined so if any of you have also came acorsst this in girls please let me know. Thank you in advance.

Hi there.
Sorry you havent had ideal news at your scans, but please dont worry too much.

We had a similar experience at 20 week scan. They were not sure if it was renal dilation or a duplex kidney. At 24 weeks we had another scan and turns out baby has both! So a duplex kidney, and the top part has renal dilation. Just had another scan at 28 weeks (we must be due around the same time) and they can see a small build up of fluid, but nothing they wouldn't expect at this point. As baby gets bigger and produces more urine, it will naturally show more on the scan.

We started off being really worried, but the hospital has been fantastic and very supportive and reassuring. If your baby just has the dilation, it could well correct itself, either later in the pregnancy or after baby is born.

We too were told it was more common in boys-however we are having a girl! Confirmed by harmony test, 20 week scan and 24 week scan lol.

We have been told the plan of action will be another couple of scans while pregnant to monitor things. Then 6 weeks of anti biotics for baby when she is born and then a scan at 3 weeks. But they have emphasized it is nothing to really worry about. The anti-biotics are preventative. The scan is just to see what is going on. This will not cause any problems for baby while she is inside. The only concern they seem to have is that she may be more prone to urine infections as she grows up. But as long as we know what to look out for there shouldn't be any issues. Now the plan is being drawn up, it will be added to the front of my notes so that when she is born everyone will know exactly what the plan of action is. They said it shouldn't affect delivery, they wouldn't induce me, and should not have to stay any longer in hospital. They will just make sure she is wee-ing ok, and show us how to administer the drops and what to look out for.

They said this is actually quite common-about 1 in every 100 20wk scans pick this up. And if it is just the dilation then there is a good chance it will correct itself. They also said that there are actually many people walking round with this condition, a duplex kidney, or indeed only 1 kidney that dont even know! It is picked up more these days as the scans are sooo good.

Please try not to worry to much. You will be monitored and so will baby. It is not ideal news, as you just want your scan to come back 100% normal, and you dont want your baby to have to face anything as they grow up. But everything I have been told and everything I have researched suggests that it is quite easily managed. I also keep telling myself (and I am in no way trying to trivialize this) that there are worse things they could have found on the scan.

I wish you all the best and hopefully it will correct itself. X

You can have the problem in girls as well as boys. Just because it’s more common in boys doesn’t mean that girls don’t have it.

Thank you so much @Waffle12 for your reassurances. It really means a lot as we were told very little yesterday at the scan, just about being referred to a fetal unit for a further scan and that an obstruction could be causing the dilation but no further information was given as to what causes the obstruction, or how it would affect delivery of baby or the time spent at hospital afterwards. I was worried we wouldn't get home for a while because of it, and was worrying about the treatment however drops seems painless and wee baba should be fine. I completely agree that there's far worse that could be found on the scan, and I guess it's better that they are being thorough. As soon as I heard fetal unit mentioned and further scans it just worried me so much. You have put my mind at ease a lot. We must be very close in due dates. Best of luck with your little girl and thank you so much again :)

I am so glad my post has helped a bit. Obviously I can only tell you our experience so far. Forgot to say that we were also told that they could see the fluid around baby was normal level so they are confident both kidneys are working, it's just that the dilated one isn't as efficient as it should be. They did mention a procedure they could do to help the kidney drain better if necessary, but this would not be considered until she was older.

Our 24 and 28 weeks scans were done by a consultant rather than a normal sonographer-I understand that this is because the consultant is better trained to officially diagnose the condition and offer more specific knowledge and any treatment plan than a sonographer. Could that be why you have been referred to a fetal unit? Maybe that's where the necessary consultant is based?

Keep us updated on how u get on.x

Thanks @Waffle12

They did say the kidney itself looked healthy, the tissue around it etc, just that it was more dilated than they would like it to be.

They said the referral to the fetal unit was because it was more of their specialised area. It was just a regular radiographer doing the scan and so I think you're right, that they just need a consultant to check it to be sure of what needs to be done. I'll definitely post an update. Thanks again :) xx

We had this at the 20week scan with my DS, who is now 6.
Like you, I was worried and got referred to fetal medicine. It didn't resolve prior to delivery and so DS was put on antibiotics from birth as a precautionary measure, as it can lead to them getting more UTIs/kidney infections.
DS is now 100% absolutely fine, his kidney had reverted to normal size within about 5 months of birth I think. No lasting effects.
Only things I would mention were 1) having to give him antibiotics orally every day was a bit stressful and he hated it. We had a hard time weaning him with lots of resistance on his part, which may or may not be related to the forcing of antibiotics into him (he eats fine now). 2) we weren't allowed to do a couple of baby therapies such as baby massage due to the fact he was on antibiotics. Not sure if that was just the practioner being over cautious or if there is a real reason for this.
Anyway. Let me know if you want to know anything else

Thanks so much @NutBiscuit :) it's very reassuring to hear that this condition is treatable and that it hopefully won't cause any long term problems. Were the antibiotics to be given more than once a day? Are they ok to go into his/her bottle of milk if I decide to use formula? Thanks again!

We had exactly the same with our first daughter (who is now 11). Picked up at the 20 week scan, rescanned weekly from 32 weeks. For us it didn't resolve itself prior to birth. I went on to have a normal delivery (41+5 weeks) and we stayed in hospital a few extra days while the paeds checked DD's creatinine levels had dropped to normal ranges.

She went onto prophylactic antibiotics from birth (trimethoprim) and had an ultrasound on her kidneys at 2 or 3 weeks of age. Still unresolved so we were referred to Evelina Children's Hospital. DD had a kidney function test, scans etc and luckily her enlarged kidney was functioning fine, just misshapen.

She had to have an open pyeloplasty at 4 months of age. Her enlarged kidney was due to an upper pelvic ureteric junction narrowing - basically the tube that drained the kidney was narrow at one point, holding the urine back and this enlarged the kidney. They removed that tiny section and she had a shunt in for 1 week which was removed. She remained on antibiotics until 12 months of age. She had one UTI at 9 months of age and a bout at 9 years old. But she has not required daily antibiotics since she was 1.

She is absolutely fine now and has no issues and we were discharged from the consultant at around 4 years of age.

Anyway - just to say, if it doesn't resolve itself it can be fixed and there should be no lasting problems.

Try your best not to worry too much.

we weren't allowed to do a couple of baby therapies such as baby massage

We did baby massage so don't think this will be a problem.
Our DD was super easy to wean.
Administering the antibiotics becomes easy - oral syringe side of the cheek quite far in. Never had an issue after a couple of weeks.

dd2 had this. Both kidneys were enlarged at the 20 weeks scan, by 36 weeks it was only one.

She was put on antibiotics at birth, then she was scaned at 10 days and both kidneys were normal sized.

I'm sitting here looking at nearly 15year old DS now who was diagnosed with bilateral renal dilatation at the 20W scan. He grew out of it about 3 yo,took the prophylactic antibiotics and has never had a UTI. Good luck.

I found out my dd had dilation and a duplex at 20 week scan. Normal delivery and then antibiotics and scan at a week old. She did get infections and end up on IV in hospital a couple of times for a week at a time.
Eventually had all but a tiny piece of her left kidney removed at 18 months old. That was 12 years ago. Had regular scans up until she was 8 them discharged.
Never stopped her doing anything at all and is a strong and healthy girl. I remember the 20 week scan so clearly and the worry but it is a condition I was told can rectify itself with time in some cases. My dd was just one of the small percentage who needed surgery.

Thanks so much to all of you ladies for taking the time to reassure me. I've read your messages to my husband who is equally reassured. We were both very worried and upset leaving the scan yesterday and so we really hope you all understand how much your replies mean to us. Thanks again xx

Yes just to add to PP we were also among the tiny percentage that didn't resolve itself naturally. And second child was fine.

Thoros yes, am perfectly willing to believe DS would always have been a pain with weaning/medication, but it's just impossible to know. He has fought all medication since the day he was born, to the point we had to give him paracetamol suppositories for a while as he wouldn't take calpol!
Scarednewmum we had to give the antibiotics twice a day. Putting it in his milk just meant him refusing to feed for us, but you may have better luck!!

Nutbiscuit the most annoying thing is the trimethoprim came in aniseed flavour. DD hates licorice. Could be a connection??

We just gave antibiotics once a day at night before a feed.

Ewwww liquorice, I'm not a fan either lol

Hi ladies, just an update. Had our appointment today with consultant at fetal unit and they said in relation to the dilation that it will just mean more follow up, scans when born and also antibiotics to prevent infection. However now there's an additional worry as the consultant said they the bowel is "bright", also known as echogenic bowel and can be sign of a viral infection or that I had an internal bleed early in pregnancy which wasn't detected and that this has been ingested by the baby and will need to work its way out but won't cause any problems. However it can also be a sign of cystic fibrosis. Me and hubby had to have bloods done to see if we are carriers. They said we both have to be carriers for the baby to be a carrier and that even if the baby is a carrier it doesn't mean they'll have cystic fibrosis, there is a 1 in 4 chance. It's still an awful worry though and because of the echogenic bowel along with the right kidney being slightly dilated that this is a soft marker for downs syndrome. They said that every pregnancy has a 1% chance but this increases the risk to 2% which I know isn't a major jump but still so worrying. I've wanted to cry since leaving the hospital but me and hubby promised we would stay positive. Any reassurances would be greatly appreciated. This has been an awful day 😢