Man’s kidney which had 6.5 litres of urine, reduced to a mere bag in a surgery held recently at a Bangalore hospital.
Imagine holding back 6.5 litres of urine and not knowing that you had a congenital kidney problem until you are 40 years old. That is precisely the condition of Sunil (name changed on request).
When Sunil was born in a village in Tamil Nadu, those who came to see the baby remarked about his protruding tummy. “It’s a lucky charm,” some said, drawing a parallel with Lord Ganesha.
“I’ve had a bloated abdomen since I was born, but there was initially no pain. Only recently, after I turned 40, did I have pain and feel the need to see a doctor. I was diagnosed to have ascites, a condition of free fluid in the abdominal cavity,” said Sunil.
A CT scan revealed that he also had a large cystic tumour in the abdomen.
Sunil approached Dr Anand M, consultant urologist, Manipal Northside Hospital with the CT scan report. The doctor informed him that he had a massive non-functioning left kidney and that the condition was caused by something he was born with — a pelvi-ureteric junction obstruction.
“The CT scan revealed a massive left side fluid-filled structure occupying the entire left half of the abdomen, extending to the opposite side and displacing the other intra-abdominal structures, particularly the intestines, to the right side and protruding the abdomen. His left kidney had practically occupied three-fourth of his abdomen,” said Dr Anand.
Dr Anand said although the pain only started recently, Sunil had been ailing for a long time. The massive kidney, which was nothing more than a bag containing 6.5 litres of urine, could have ruptured if he had so much as fallen or received a friendly punch.
Dr Anand recommended that Sunil undergo surgery through minimal access technique. Although giant hydronephrosis (a condition where the kidney is distended by urine accumulation of more than a litre) is not rare, the size that Sunil’s malfunctioning kidney had attained was quite unique.
“Sunil’s left kidney had bloated to 1.5 ft in length and 0.3 ft in breath, and was larger than a newborn baby,” said Dr Anand. (A normal adult kidney is 4-5 inches long and about 3-inches wide).
After the surgery, which was minimally invasive, the massive kidney was reduced to a mere bag.
The procedure took around 40 minutes. Four days after the operation, Sunil was ready for discharge. The surgery took place two weeks ago. On Monday, Sunil was back at his lathe factory job.
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