told at 22 wk scan today that baby has renal pelvic dilation??

[nomorebooze]

Hi, i had my 22 week scan today and was told everything was normal apart from the fact the baby has 'renal pelvic dilation' on one side, i was given a leaflet with minimal detail on it. and was told i need another scan at 32wks, however I am now sitting worrying about it, what does it mean? does it have any longterm complications? any advice will be very much appriciated. thanks for your replys in advance!

Had this with my first.

The pelvis is the bit of the kidney that collects the urine then it travels down the ureter to the bladder. If it's dilated, it may mean there has been some kind of blockage further down stopping the urine flowing freely.

DS1 was put on antibiotics for a year after birth (squirted into mouth every night, no real bother) and we were told of the signs to look out for of urinary tract infections. That's the biggest risk, as infection could cause further damage to the kidney. He has never had one (now 6 1/2).

He also had lots of renal studies (various scans all done in 1 day in hospital) to look at kidneys, bladder etc and they didn't show any particular reason (they did show a very big bladder, but that has turned out to be quite useful!). He then had annual ultrasounds and consultant follow up until last year (aged 5 1/2) when he was discharged.

So - severity can vary, but it's often just one of those things that doesn't actually cause any ongoing health problems. I remember how impossible it was not to worry, but remember the other kidney is fine, the affected one is probably just going to be less effective, and one healthy kidney is plenty. The consultant we saw said it's one of those common things that many of us oldies like me could have, but will never have been picked up because we didn't have ultrasounds in those days. HTH.

My DS had a dilated kidney and it was picked up on the scan. I worried myself sick (for no good reason it turned out!). He was given antibiotics from birth for about 9 months at which point it returned to normal as I was told was most likely to happen. He was fine and suffered no health problems during these nine months (apart from a neurotic mother!!)

Try not to worry as am sure this will be the case with your baby too.

Things might be fine by your next scan. I was told that this is picked up quite a lot at the 20 week scan but later scans often show things being back to normal.

My DS3 had this, he was checked at birth and was fine, didn't even need antibiotics.

Good luck, chances are all will be fine.

My first born wasn't detected and had near fatal consequences at 5wks old! He has had numerous problems since and his right kidney as a result is scarred and smaller than the left but functions normally. He has been on nightly antibiotics since he was hopsitalised and I am pleased to say as of the 1st Sept 2009 has finally stopped them on condition we test every month and send off to lab until they are happy to not test. I have been a total wreck worrying myself silly and feel I missed out on enjoying being a mum. The fact they have detected this is only a positive thing as the correct team will be involved from the moment precious new life arrives. My obsgyne has put all proceedures in place for my next one( currently 16wks thurs) and i too have additional scan booked in for 31 wks.Plus baby will have urine taken on arrival and a scan of kidneys at 6wks old. I am certainly very grateful they are taking this seriously and if all is clear as a result of this I will feel extremely satisfied all areas were covered!So please don't worry. Your being well looked after by the sounds of it. And please when baby arrives please follow your instincts. Don't be fobbed off with oh your a neurotic first time mum and don't know anything. If I had taken mine to A+E instead of GP when I was worried then I might have prevented my little ones initial suffering. Good luck and keep posting on here. It def helps to talk!

Just read TMD's post and it reminded me of something else I should have said. If the problem is still there are the next scan, the obstetrician will probably tell you what procedure will be followed after the birth. But - it then becomes the paediatric team's job after the birth. In our hospital there was a communication problem between the teams and I had to keep pushing for follow up scans / treatment until my son was in the system properly, and down as a patient of one of the consultant paediatricians. Only took about 3 weeks but as a new mum it was a stress I could have done without. After that they were fab, sending scans off to the specialist at Great Ormond Street just to check that the local consultants hadn't missed anything unusual etc but if I hadn't pushed for it we would have faced delays too. As TMD says don't be fobbed off!

thanks everyone youve reassured me, i can be a worry pot, i think its just the not knowing thats the worst, the hospital have been good, im just glad its been picked up. and thanks i wont be very easily fobbed off. your all stars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was told at 20 week scan that my DD had a similar problem. Regular scans (got loads of pictures!) but not given much info before birth. She was on anti biotics for 2 years from birth (scan at 5 days old is standard) with numerous infections that could only be dealt with by A&E trips and hospital stays resulting in an operation to remove a large section of her kidney and tube. If we had not known before hand then it could have been so much worse as TMD has said. After a healthy 1st DD it was a shock but looking back I can't believe how much worrying I did. She is perfectly fine and has annual scans and check ups and is now perfecty healthy although has a fondness towards taking medicine due to having it so much from birth!!!!
However if you do end up with this being longterm then insistance is so important as hey will try to fob you off. I only got the operation quickly by being forceful. I recognised infection symptoms even when doctors didn't.
It may seem the end of the world but it really isn't. My DD is now very proud of her scar from having her 'kidley' removed!
By the way only certain hospitals can deal with this problem as well.

Thanks DITDOT, Glad you mentioned about only certain hospitals dealing with this, i never really thought about this, as i am moving in 2 weeks so will have to find out where my nearest hospital is and whether they are able to deal or not!!!!!!!!!!!!! nothings ever simple! glad your wee one is well know!

just relooked at my scan results, and it looks like both kidneys are affected! panic / worrie resetting back in. i wrongly presumed it was only one affected not both, it says 'renal pelveses dilated bilaterally' 'l and r pelvis a-p 7.0mm' no idea what that means? but both look like there showing the same result.

nomorebooze the a-p tells you which direction they are measuring in (from front to back, anterior-posterior as opposed to left to right). No idea what the normal range is so that's something to ask at your next appointment so you can find out if it's marginally bigger than normal or much bigger.

Hi

Easy for me to say but don't worry, kidneys are pretty resilient. When you go back for your scan make sure you are being seen by an obstetrician with a specialism in such things. I was at a district hospital and there was one there and it is not a large hospital. A sonographer will not be able to give you as much in depth detail as you will want and need. Also I was told that some of these issues do rectify themselves (although my DD's didn't). Nothing will be done whilst baby is still inside so you really need to know what will happens afterwards and my consultant was a bit wishy washy. I can tell you what happened in my case if you want. My DD only had this problem with one kidney but a different problem with the other one. Positivity. Will keep checking this thread. Am in Yorkshire by the way. If you are then poss will be same team when baby is born.

hi everyone! just a wee update, i have been for my 32 week scan today to check how the renal pelvic dilation is! the scan showed 1 enlarged slightly from the last scan and 1 the same! will have to have tests once wee one arrives to see how they are doing then! have been told they only refer people for further tests if they are showing to be dilated over 15mm my bean is 7mm on one side and 10mm on other? just hope it dosent get any worse!!!!!!!!!!! one interesting fact though, it has a very furry head, lol. x