Abnormal finding kidney 16W ultrasound

[AlwaysSeekingComfort]

Hey all,

So we went for a private US scan @ WTTW, and all was found OK apart from one of the kidneys. One of them was large? Or larger than it should be? He didn’t really elaborate on what it was or if it was a cause for concern etc… I asked him to explain but for some reason none of it registered in my brain (I think where I was panicking) he said if it was bigger than 7mm at this stage it would be worrying but it’s 5mm so don’t worry about it “for now”. And said that they’ll check everything @ the 20w scan anyway (which is not til the end of this month :(! ) well now of course I’m worried… and googling like crazy!
I’ve found lots of diff abnormalities with kidneys and different outcomes. I saw it on the screen and looked like a big black circle (big is probably an exaggeration). Has anyone else experienced the same? What was the outcome? What was your LO diagnosed with? This 4 week wait for the 20W scan is going to be torture :(

Sorry to ramble or if that didn’t make sense! X

Congratulations on your pregnancy, I don’t have any experience with this but if they are concerned they are supposed to refer you to the hospital. Could you call EPU for a scan based on what WTTW said?

DS1 had an abnormally large kidney that showed on my scans. They did some extra scanning at 20wks. It was monitored until he was about 9months old apart from that nothing came of it. Hes 14 years old now and has never had any kidney problems.

@Cafeaulait27 thank you. I have just emailed my MW as suspect she had gone home for the day now…. I’ll wait to see what she says I think. Hopefully she responds Monday :(

@TooBigForMyBoots oh really? How large do you remember? Sooooo pleased to hear all was OK and he is healthy 💐. I am worried as I think I saw multiple cysts on the US when he was doing different views… the sonographer had a mask on and English wasn’t his first language so it was difficult to take in and understand. Just feel so overwhelmed and lost… and in limbo.

Growth and development aren't linear, so it may well be that something that seems ahead of schedule at 16 weeks can be well within expected ranges at 20 weeks. It sounds like the sonographer has identified that the kidney(s) may be a bit ahead of schedule at this point, but that doesn't mean there's necessarily a problem there. 5mm renal pelvis diameter (which is what I'm assuming he's been measuring) is within the acceptable range, and even if the measurement were to be a bit above the acceptable range in 4 weeks it wouldn't necessarily mean there would be a problem - one of the most common causes of a mildly increased renal pelvis diameter is "normal variant" (meaning the baby is ok, they just fall slightly outside the usual range for that measurement).

If you're feeling worried, you could contact your local community midwives or EPU and ask them to look at the ultrasound report (this should be available either on paper or electronically).

Hello @Scirocco
Thanks for the above explanation! Are you in the medical profession as you seem very clued up! I appreciate your response! It was only one kidney that he was saying was “not the usual” (he didn’t use them words but I cannot remember a single thing he said). You could tell as well as the other kidney couldn’t be seen but this was a black circle or had a black circle in it. On another view it looked like it has multiple black circles, like you would expect cysts to look like. And that it was measuring approx 5MM at the moment. I have called WTTW and asked them to send me an email to reiterate what I was told so I can read and take it in. I have also emailed my MW to make her aware. So hopefully once I get the email from WTTW I am abit more clearer on what he found or what he suspects. And also see what my MW thinks.
Thanks again for kindly taking your time to reply

That sounds like dilated renal pelvis. It means there is fluid on the kidney which enlarges it. General care is keep a close eye and only if continues getting bigger or is a very large amount of fluid does anything need doing.

Hi,

I’ve not had this happen to me as a pregnant person but it was picked up at my mums 20 weeks scan that I had issues with one kidney, one of the valves wasn’t working as it should.

That kidney failed when I was a toddler, but it was gradual and didn’t require any intervention as all - they didn’t even remove it from me! It’s just shrunk away. I had yearly appointments at GOSH and my kidney function is exactly the same as someone with two.

Having one kidney is really common, a lot of people don’t even know they only have one - I think it’s about 1 in 700 people?

Hey @Madwife123, thanks so much for your reply. Posting on here is really settling my anxiety so thanks so much (and to the rest of you too 💐). Do you suspect this as you had it during your previous pregnancy/s or are you of the medical profession so are familiar with things like this? X

@Oliveandsage oh wow…. You know what, my DP has someone in his family with one kidney. I didn’t realise it was quite common. Glad to hear you are all OK and there wasn’t any consequences from it! X

One of my daughters was diagnosed with multi-cystic kidney dysplasia prenatally. It sounded like that might be what you saw/ are concerned about? She was regularly checked out by the doctors when she was little (they all seemed a bit excited about it and we had a lot of med students sitting there taking notes). They whipped out the wrong ‘un when she was about 6, as it hadn’t disappeared on its own and then signed her off. She’s fine, happy and healthy (and in all ways wonderful). Her other kidney is a bit bigger than normal in order to compensate for the wrong ‘un.
It was stressful and full of unknowns at the time for me- but it sounds like there might be an issue on one side only, if at all- in which case it’s the best of all major-organ-failure options and is very unlikely to cause problems. They will look after you very well too- I’m sure. Recommend checking in with your midwife/ GP for a bit of support and advice.

Hey @Burnshersmurfs, yes well After Googling I did come across what you have said above… and read all the horrible/negative bits about a baby being diagnosed with it…. among a list of other potential things too. It’s all sent me into a spin :(.. but it’s pleasing to hear your LO’s outcome and being happy & healthy! So thank you!!!

Glad it helped a bit. Wishing you all the best, OP.

Hey all, just thought I’d give a little update, sounds like it was mentioned as “renal pelvic dilation”…. My MW also said this is what it sounds like to her when I tried to describe it. She didn’t seem too worried and said try to enjoy your pregnancy for now. Also WTTW said if it was major they would have referred me to the hospital. So I suppose all I have to do is wait and see what the 20W scan shows and if it’s improved/got worse or if there are other issues found along with it etc.
Have actually read it can also be a soft marker for DS but unsure how solid that is.. my NHS 12W scan/blood results were all low and the NT was 1.2mm… so should I be also worried about it potentially being chromosomal, who knows.

I’ll update you all when I have my 20W scan and I am really hoping it is good news as my anxiety is extreme at the moment and all I want is to enjoy my first pregnancy 😔.
Thanks all for replying yesterday 💐

@AlwaysSeekingComfort I’m a midwife so come across a lot and your description sounds like renal pelvis dilation.

Hey @Madwife123, awww ok! How wonderful to have MW’s on here who are kind enough to give insights. So you’ll agree that I should try relax for now and see what the 20W scan shows? Am I right about it being a soft marker for DS? X

As an isolated finding no it’s not.

The research as to what is normal, what is mild, what is severe etc. is based on fetus’s at 20 weeks plus. This is because the anomaly scan is at 20 weeks and very few people have scans at 16 weeks. That’s why the 20 week scan will be the one to officially diagnose it and there is nothing to do earlier.

Unless it’s severe (more than 10 in one kidney or more than 7 in both) the management is still just watch and see with regular scans.

If it’s severe you will be referred to a fetal medicine unit to have a closer look at the rest of the urinary system. The most common cause is a blockage so they will be looking for this. This can be resolved after delivery. The vast majority resolve themselves however.

This leaflet will hopefully explain more.

www.liverpoolwomens.nhs.uk/media/2930/renal-pelvic-dilation-rpd-mat_2019-233-v2.pdf

This is all assuming what they found is indeed renal pelvic dilation however what you describe sounds like it, particularly them mentioning the measurement of 7.

@Madwife123
Thanks so much for explaining some more! That’s the mindset I need to have. I can’t do nothing at the mo and nothing can be confirmed yet so have to enjoy this time until the 20w scan.
And yes of course, we don’t even know what it is yet! Thanks again! I will have a read on your link! Appreciate it very much 💐

I’m not a sonographer so don’t know the ‘normal’ measurement at 16 weeks but 5mm would be perfectly normal and not a concern at all at 20 weeks so I really can’t see it being way out of the normal range and you might find at 20 weeks there is no issue at all and it’s a normal finding.

@Madwife123 Yes there’s not much out there on what’s normal at 16w is there. I suppose as you say, it’s not normally picked up before hand because people don’t usually have scans @ 16w. I am hoping (if it is indeed RPD), that there is no change to the diameter and it’s still the same at my 20w scan, but will have to cross that bridge when I come to it. The leaflet you provided was very informative and useful and does put my mind at ease! Which is just what I need to get me through these next 4weeks. I will keep referring back to that when I start going down the rabbit hole again. I can’t express how grateful I am for you to take your time and try and help settle a strangers anxieties. Again, thank you! X

Not a problem at all! Hope your little one behaves and stops worrying you! Although I guess this is preparing you for the next 18+ years of worry 🤣

Hiya, my son had this too, sorry can't remember the measurements but it was pretty mild. It was picked up at the 20 week scan where they initially said it was one kidney but it was actually both.

They said to me it wasn't a big issue and he might just need antibiotics when he was born. I was referred to fetal medicine and had very frequent scans after that (partly because they suspected he would be a big baby)
The kidneys never really went down but were just above what was normal.

When he was born he was scanned about 2 weeks later and they said all was fine, though still larger than average. He wasn't given antibiotics.
I actually can't remember if he was scanned when he was born....seems like they would...but I genuinely can't remember it happening.

I was always told that if my son was ill with unexplained fever, I should always mention this issue as it could be related to a urine infection.
He has been scanned a few times since then and I think will now be discharged (He is 18 months)

I read all the soft marker info too (scared myself silly) and as long as there are no other significant markers for Downs syndrome, its just something that is slightly more likely in someone with DS rather than a sign of it...if that makes sense.

One thing that was reassuring was finding out my friends son had the same and it was only discovered at birth. He had the antibiotics and was fine.

Good luck, I'm sure everything will be fine x