Sometimes at birth they make a diagnosis such as "kidney hydronephrosis" in a newborn. What it is? This is a disease characterized by clogging of the ureter with a tumor, stones, blood clots, or a violation of the discharge of urine due to improper development of the organs that excrete it. In newborns, such a pathology usually affects one of the kidneys, mainly the left. With a bilateral lesion, an urgent operation is required, otherwise the baby may die.
Such a disease is treated mainly by a surgical method, and conservative methods are used in order to slightly alleviate the patient’s condition and in order to prepare for surgery. Medicines are used in the postoperative period to reduce the likelihood of complications.
How is the disease manifested?
Renal hydronephrosis in newborns is dangerous because its symptoms appear only in the third stage. Therefore, the first symptoms should be noticed by parents. They should be alerted that the baby became lethargic, capricious, began to eat poorly, and sleep disturbed. With abdominal pains, the child bends his legs and pulls them up.
You should pay attention to the condition and quality of urine. If suddenly on the diaper appeared bloody discharge, do not delay the visit to the doctor.
The main sign of the disease is an enlarged kidney, which is easily palpated with bimanual palpation examination, and it can also be detected by ultrasound. A strong organ enlargement is manifested by a large abdominal volume. Often, renal hydronephrosis in newborns is accompanied by an infectious complication with fever. In this case, urine contains a large number of white blood cells.
Causes of occurrence
Hydronephrosis is congenital and acquired. In newborns , the congenital form is most often found, which is characterized by abnormal development of the kidneys and their vascular system during intrauterine development. A child is born with an abnormal ureter, which can be narrowed or have an incorrect location, an extra arterial vessel. He, in turn, squeezes this organ very strongly, as a result of which the outflow of urine is disturbed.
In a newborn, a violation of the outflow of urine from both one kidney and both simultaneously can be detected. In this case, a diagnosis is made - unilateral or bilateral hydronephrosis.
It has not yet been fully clarified, because of which there is an abnormal intrauterine formation of the kidneys, leading to the onset of this disease. One thing is obvious - the abuse of a woman in the position of alcoholic beverages can provoke possible deviations in the fetus. In addition, smoking and taking certain medications adversely affect the health of the unborn baby.
The acquired form of renal hydronephrosis occurs due to complications caused by other kidney diseases.
Kinds
Renal hydronephrosis in newborns, a photo of which clearly demonstrates the essence of the problem, is most often one-sided. Most boys are exposed to this pathology. Such a disease is divided into three types.
Pieloectasia - is the first stage of pathology, characterized by an increase in the pelvis due to high blood pressure. At this stage, the renal parenchyma is not yet affected, the main functions of the organ are preserved, but it is already slightly enlarged. With timely initiation of treatment, serious consequences can be avoided.
The second stage of hydronephrosis is hydrocalicosis. In this case, the pelvis of the organ increases even more with the cups of the kidneys. Excess urine that accumulates in the renal tubules begins to compress the parenchyma, which is why its functioning is almost completely disrupted.
The third stage of hydronephrosis is accompanied by active atrophy of the renal tissue. In this case, the kidney completely stops working. At this stage, only surgical treatment is carried out.
Diagnostics
Renal hydronephrosis in newborns is diagnosed using ultrasound, computed tomography, excretory urography, laboratory tests, and mycic cystography.
An experienced doctor is able to diagnose such a pathology during the first examination. With the help of palpation, he determines whether the kidney is enlarged or not, and then directs the child for examination. With the help of modern equipment, it is possible not only to confirm the fact of the disease itself, but also to establish the degree of damage to the organ, as well as find out the possible causes that led to the occurrence of hydronephrosis.
Excretory pyelography is performed to evaluate the excretory function of the kidneys, and with the help of mycystic cystography you can detect reflux, which in some cases provokes hydronephrosis.
If hydronephrosis of the kidneys is diagnosed in newborns, mothers recommend ultrasound diagnostics every three months to monitor changes in dynamics. In this case, the occurrence of complications can be prevented.
Treatment
If the kidney is slightly increased, then conservative treatment is carried out, which allows normalizing the outflow of urine. With timely started competent treatment, you can achieve a positive result by restoring the kidney.
When diagnosing the second stage of a disease such as hydronephrosis of the kidneys in newborns, the treatment is also carried out mainly in the medical way with the obligatory monitoring of the dynamics. If it is positive, then conservative treatment is continued according to the established scheme. Negative dynamics implies mandatory surgical intervention.
In the third stage, surgery is performed in 100% of cases.
Indications for surgery
Thanks to modern methods of treatment, effective assistance is provided with minimal surgical complications. If hydronephrosis is diagnosed in a newborn, surgery can be prescribed in the following cases:
- expansion of the cavities of the body;
- severe narrowing of the ureter ;
- the presence of calculi in the kidneys;
- the appearance of a tumor in the pelvis.
Surgery
The most gentle method of surgical intervention is laparoscopic plastic surgery. The meaning of its implementation is that through the small incisions made, a laparoscope is introduced, which is a tube with a screen at the end. With the help of such a device, a narrow section of the ureter is replaced by a new wide connection of this organ and renal pelvis created by surgeons. This contributes to the normal restoration of the outflow of urine.
Such surgical intervention is performed at any stage of the disease. After that, the baby spends one week in the hospital.
The child must be registered with a urologist. For preventive purposes, the baby should take uroseptics for two weeks. In addition, during the first year after the operation, it is recommended to regularly take a urine test.
Treatment with folk remedies
In the presence of a disease such as renal hydronephrosis in newborns, treatment with folk remedies involves the elimination of obvious symptoms of this pathology.
Recommended Herbal Treatments:
- 50 g of adonis grass, oats, horsetail, bearberry, nettle leaves and 150 g of birch leaves;
- 100 g each of birch buds, stonecrop grass, field horsetail, adonis, oat grain, bedstraw and hop cones;
- 250 g each of bearberry and buds of birch, 50 g of hoofed horsetail, horsetail and knotweed, 75 g of bean leaves and stigmas of corn;
- 150 g of juniper fruits, birch leaves and dandelion roots.
To prepare the tincture, 100 g of any collection is poured with a liter of boiling water, boiled for 10 minutes, then poured into a thermos with green mass and left overnight. Filter and drink tincture of 100 g before meals. The course of treatment lasts 4 months, with a break of 2 weeks, after which they continue it.
For children, it is necessary to prepare tincture in such a daily dose of herbal collection:
- up to 1 year - 0.5 tsp;
- up to 3 years - 1 tsp;
- 3-6 years - 1 dess. l .;
- 6-10 years - 1 tbsp. l .;
- over 10 years old - 2 tbsp. l
It should be remembered that some herbs may have contraindications.
Conclusion
Thus, if the diagnosis of renal hydronephrosis was made in newborns, you should not despair. Most importantly, if the degree of the disease is mild, it is necessary to monitor the dynamics of the development of this pathology and treat the child with a medication. Surgery is performed in the most severe cases, but thanks to modern techniques, a high probability of recovery is guaranteed.