Child getting kidney removed. Anyone else?

[Gooddie]

My 2.5 year old has to get her kidney removed. It's tiny and doesn't work, but due to high blood pressure and recurring UTIs, her consultant feels it should come out. The ureter is dilated so will probably be removed too.

The surgeon will do a cystoscopy at the time of surgery to check on the bladder.

Has this happened to any one else? Any ideas or tips if so??
How long does recovery last (my MIL got her kidney removed due to cancer 7 weeks ago and is still in pain)?

I'm really in shock here today as this was something we thought might happen in the future, not when she's so small.

I have no direct experience of this, and sorry your dd is so poorly.

dh had a kidney removed when he was tiny - about 8 months old. he took a while to recover, but had been very ill beforehand.

he is over 50, and still going strong, and his remaining kidney is functioning fine.

My sister had this when she was a similar age and, although I have no real knowledge to give you (the fact that I got a rainbow bright doll whilst she had the op as I stayed with my grandparents for a bit is probably no help :) ) I can reassure you that she's now a completely healthy 29 year old and hasn't even had a UTI for 7 years!

Thanks a million girls.

Just freaked out that she's so small (even though your DH was 8 months...now that's small!!) going through an op like that.

Any other tips on recovery times, etc?

Not sure if your DD has already had her op but I'll post this anyway.
My 5 month old DS had a pyeloplasty to remove a blockage in the ureter that was preventing his kidney from draining. The op took about 3 hours, he was in hospital 2 days afterwards. Was a bit off colour for about a week but bounced back pretty quickly. Within 2 weeks you wouldn't have known he'd had the op, the way he was throwing himself around!
There was another little boy (same age) on the ward at the same time we were and he had his kidney removed and was home the next day!
Might be a bit different with an older child though, not sure.

Thanks Strawberrypenguin.

No she hasn't had the op yet. We're meeting with the consultant at the end of May to discuss it. Hoping it will be soon as I'm still on ML and obviously would like to be around for a while with her.

That's great about your DS. Glad he's feeling better now.

Adding to the anecdotes...
DS (12) has a peer who had 3 diseased kidneys removed before starting school (left him with one kidney which is not perfect, either). He seems fine, prognosis good last I heard, but mustn't risk certain sports + needs to maintain high fluid intake.