Hi! Just returned from my anatomy scan where we were told that our baby has a mildly dilated kidney. The Doctor explained that this typically works itself out during the pregnancy and said she'll take another look at 28 weeks. If it doesn't she advised, the pediatrician would deal with it after birth. Anyone have experience with this during their pregnancy? And have any stories of how it played out? Thanks!
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Detected in 1 - 5% of all pregnancies. Most common "thing" (i.e. do not think of this necessarily as an "abnormality") to discover on a prenatal ultrasound.
They'll do another ultrasound and let you know if it gets worse, stays the same, or goes away. If it stays the same or gets worse, your pediatrician will have your LO get a post-natal ultrasound sometime after day 2 or 3 of life. Depending on what they see, they'll refer you to a pediatric urologist, if there is one in the area.
Bottom line: The vast majority of these are nothing. I could go into all the things it could be, but mild dilation in only one kidney, at this point, is nothing to write home about. Focus on being healthy and growing your baby, which is exactly what you would be doing anyway.
(yaddayaddayadda: not medical advice, but this would be exactly what I would tell my sister if it happened to her.)
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Thank you for your kind and helpful response. My doctor told me not to worry, but I'm a natural worrier. She's also pretty laid back. Also didnt really know what questions to ask. I guess I always like to know what's the worst case scenario.
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My 5.5 month old daughter has a significant dilated kidney and ureter. It was discovered during an ultrasound at 37 weeks to check her positioning(she was breech until 33ish weeks). I had another ultrasound 2 weeks later to check the status, as I was told that they usually correct themselves. Hers was actually a little worse then, so I was told that she would need an ultrasound before we left the hospital after birth. At 1 day old she had an ultrasound and we were sent to see a urologist at 3 weeks old. So far she has had 4 ultrasounds, a vcug test to rule out reflux, and been on a daily low dose of antibiotics. We actually go next week for another ultrasound to check the status. At her last appointment, her doctor thought that the dilation was improving and how it looks next week will determine if we need a more invasive test done to pinpoint the physical abnormality.
This is my first post(!) but I felt compelled to respond since I remember frantically googling stories of dilated kidneys and not getting a ton of information. While it sounds scary, It really hasn't caused any issues for my daughter.
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Hi! Congratulations on your baby girl! I'm glad she's well and hope that she continues to do well. I really appreciate you sharing. Did they say anything about this affecting her long term health?
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@corilyns: my LO has mild hydronephrosis in one kidney that was detected in utero. It is my understanding that in the majority of cases, it resolves itself by the time the baby is born. LO had a follow up ultrasound a few weeks after birth and his kidney was still slightly enlarged so he was scheduled for a VCUG to rule out reflux. He was put on a low dose of antibiotics until we got the results of the VCUG that it was not reflux. Since it was a mild case and not due to reflux the doctor said that most of the time these things resolve themselves so we're just going to be monitoring it through annual ultrasounds for now. LO is about 13.5 months now and should be due for a follow up ultrasound soon.
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@corilyns: There are so many things it could be, that it is hard to think about all the "what ifs" at this point. (Which I know is a tough thing to hear.)
Without knowing absolutely anything about your LO, here are the situations where I would be worried:
1. Both kidneys severely dilated in a little boy (boys only)
2. One kidney severely dilated and the other kidney is missingOutside of that and without any other findings (again, without any particulars, so I am, admittedly, talking out of my head right now), I would not be personally as concerned. The three most common things it could be are nothing (yes!), blockage or reflux.
Nothing: Yes, believe me, it could still, and most likely be, nothing!
Blockage: Think about a long balloon. Squeeze on one end, and it makes the other end dilate: that would be blockage. It can happen where the kidney connects directly to the tube (ureter) that drains to the bladder or where the ureter connects to the bladder. Sometimes the LO requires a special test to determine if there is a "physiologically significant" blockage. This would mean the difference between going from 8 lanes of traffic to 4 lanes versus 1 lane or 0 lanes. The kidney is fairly adaptable and may not mind having only 4 lanes open. However, 1 or 0 lanes would have to be addressed, usually surgically.
And to confuse things further, sometimes the kidney will open 16 lanes of traffic and then realize that it doesn't really need it. This means that the kidney and tube will be persistently dilated, but still function quite well. There is nothing really to be done about this.Reflux: Urine made in the kidney is designed to go in one direction and one direction only - down the tubes to the bladder. Sometimes urine can go backward from the bladder back up to the kidney. This is reflux. This is graded from 1 (least) to 5 (most severe) and can only be diagnosed after your LO is born. A "VCUG": voiding cystourethrogram is the test to detect this. "Cysto-" = bladder, "urethro-" = urethra, and "gram" = x-ray. A catheter is placed in the baby's bladder via the urethra, and the bladder is filled up with x-ray contrast. Plain x-rays are taken. If the ureters are highlighted with contrast, then that is a positive test for reflux.
Both of these diagnoses are managed from observation to surgical intervention. Neither one put the kidney at major risk the vast majority of the time. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, but it is rare.
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@Espion: Wow! You're great at explaining this. I get it. And I feel so much better. Thanks!
@nerdbee: thanks for sharing your story. I hope things continue to go well with your son. -
bumping this because I just got back from our anatomy scan and they found the same thing. I have another scan scheduled for next week to follow. The doctor didn't seem very concerned at all but of course I'm super worried. It's a relief to read here that it isn't a huge deal though!
I'd love to hear updates or other experiences with this!
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@nana87: After our 12-week U/S, a nurse from my OB's office called because they saw an enlarged bladder on the images. Went back at 14w and 16w, bladder was still enlarged (not "grossly enlarged" but "prominent") and one of the kidneys was enlarged at the 16w U/S.
We're going in again this Wednesday (at 19w) to see how things have progressed. Good news is that the doctor and specialist didn't seem too concerned, there was still a good amount of fluid around the baby, and that neither the bladder or kidney were HUGE. Hope you get some answers soon!
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@nana87: my son who is six weeks old has a slightly enlarged kidney that was detected at my 20 week ultrasound. It remained basically unchanged at birth so our pedi referred us to a pediatric urologist to be on the safe side. He told us basically what @Espion said -- most likely it is nothing to worry about and will be asymptomatic. We will monitor it periodically with ultrasounds but he is 99 percent sure it will never cause problems. He actually said in a way these cases are detected b/c ultrasounds have gotten too good!
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My sister's little girl has a kidney that is lower in her body than it is supposed to be. This was detected during the pregnancy. Its not a problem though, just good to know about, I suppose. I'm sure your LO will be perfectly healthy. Praying thats the case!
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My baby boy was diagnosed with a mildly enlarged kidney during the 20 week ultrasound. At 28 weeks, his kidney is within normal limits!
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@HabesBabe: fingers crossed that you get some answers soon too!!
@Mrs. Yoyo: I'm sorry your son has this, but it's a relief to hear that the doctor is confident it most likely won't raise any issues!
@MrsMcD: glad your niece is okay!!
@Raz: that's wonderful!!
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@Mrs. Yoyo: My OB said the same thing (about improved quality of U/Ss)! He said they wouldn't have even seen this 10 years ago... insane! Those sound like good odds for Yoyo 2.0
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@HabesBabe: I wanted to check in after your appointment on Wed, I hope it went well!
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@nana87: Thank you, that is so sweet! The bladder is now back to normal size, and the right kidney is still slightly enlarged (4mm?). Bladder wall is a little thick (dr isn't sure if it was due to previous inflammation or what, and she said it can *sometimes* be related to an increased risk of Down, but my 2nd tri was 1/2000+) but she isn't too worried about either one at this point.
We're going to come back in 7 weeks for a follow-up (compared to the 2-3 weeks in between U/Ss that we've been having lately).
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@HabesBabe: that's so great that the doctor doesn't seem too worried, and that the bladder is back to normal! it's so nerve-wracking to have to wait for another follow up, but at least it means they're being proactive, right?
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