After Googling for some time, I think that the condition Maxim has is called ectopic kidneys. There are several variations on this abnormality, but is seems that Maxim has the simple ectopic kidney, which means that one of his kidneys, the right one, hasn’t moved up to its position. Other than that it is on the proper side and functions alright.
There is no treatment either. Actually there is none needed so far. The misplaced kidney can cause a number of evil things, like stones in the kidneys, abdominal pains, and internal infections. Only if something like that starts to happen, there will be the need to treat it. Hopefully it won’t happen.
By the way, when I was thanking ultrasound inventors, I was right on the spot. Ectopic kidneys are a fairly common thing. About 1 out of 500 to 1000 people are born with it. More frequently those are man than women. And more frequenlty the left kidney gets misplaced. Interesting thing is that only about 1 out of every 10 cases is diagnosed. Now this number is growing due to the wide acceptance of ultrasound as a diagnostic tool. Until recently, most of the cases were discovered by accident, when, for example, doing the abdominal X-Ray.
So, once again – thank you guys for developing ultrasound. Keep it up.
I’ve known I’ve had an ectopic kidney ever since my first ultrasound to see my first child in the womb. Not only did they see a baby, but also a kidney. My right kidney is lodged in my pelvic area, left is in its right place. Over the years I’ve experienced pain then usual and getting more infections in this kidney it’s affecting my health and because the pain is unbareable, I’m off of work too. Well, there it is another one of me with an ectopic kidney, hope I can get well with that. Take care..
Thanks for stopping by
Dear Mr. Leonid,
I had been diagnosed with Right Ectopic Kidney in Right Illiac Fossa just like Maxim (about whom you mention here) about 3-4 years back
I am experiencing unexplained pain since 3-4 days in same region. Previously also there have been 2-3 episodes of similar pains for around the same duration.
I wanted to ask whether Maxim has been experiencing something similar or any other problem
Rajesh Mishra,
so far we haven’t seen any problems with Maxim. There are a few more tests in the queue, but so far so good…
Hi, my wife is pregnant and in our the las ultrasound we were told that our son has a pelvic kidney. I noticed that this post is quite old so I was wondering if you could comment an update describing your experience.
Thanks!
Hi mart76,
so far everything is OK with Maxim. We haven’t done any treatments and his life experiences are not limited in any way because of the condition. Another routine check is coming up, which should show the trend in the condition – if it is getting better or worse or what. Once we do that check and have the results, I’ll publish another post.
I have an ectopic kidney on the right. I didn’t start having problems till I was 5 months pregnant. That was over 5 years ago. I have been in so much pain over the years. A lot of people thought it was all in my head. I had been going to a Urologist for years. He was a good doctor but I have since found a much better one. My new doctor has given me more info on my problem and how to fix it. I never knew that I was having drainage problems til this doctor. Find a good doctor make him listen and show you what he can do for you.
KDE,
thanks for sharing. We are trying to keep an eye on the problem, but good doctors are in a short supply here.
hi, our son was born 2 months ago and fortunately so far everything seems to be ok, we have an US check in about two weeks.
how is Maxim doing?
how old is he by now?
thanks in advance
mart76,
Maxim is 3 years and 9 month old now and he is doing just fine. We did the study of his kidneys a couple of weeks ago and it looks like everything is normal. His lower kidney is still lower and smaller in size, but the functionality is within norm. So far so good. We are trying to keep an eye on it.
Hello. i am 20 weeks pregnant and just found out that my baby has pelvic kidney. i saw your last post was in 2008, i was wondering how maxim is now. is he leading normal life? does pelvic kidney really needs to be removed? or like maxim it can be retained?
thank you and heres wishing for maxims health.
Anna,
Maxim is doing fine. He is 5 years and 2 month now and he is growing and learning normally. Once every couple of years we do the tests to monitor his kidneys functionality. Even though one of his kidneys is smaller than the other and functions less, there were no recommendations from the doctors to remove it.
Best wishes and good luck with your pregnancy!
Hello,
Thanks to every one for sharing your experience with us.
My wife is 21 weeks pregnant now, and doctor told us our baby has left pelvic kidney. Actually we are very scared, and really do not know what we should do for him. Doctor wants us relax, but we could not be relax with his health problem. We did a lot google research too, and still confused.
Thanks to every one again, and all the best to you as well.
Sun,
don’t worry. First of all, the good thing is that the condition was discovered early. Knowing helps a great deal.
Secondly, it’s not always as horrible as it sounds. When I learned about my son’s kidney problem, I was horrified as well. But so far (he is five and a half now), the problem didn’t show itself any way at all. Every two years we do some tests to make sure that things are under control, but other than that there is nothing. Maxim lives a healthy and happy life, runs, plays, eats, grows, etc.
Thirdly, even if the problem becomes serious, there are ways to help. Most of them, if I understand correctly, are unfortunately surgical, but still – the solutions are there (as opposite to AIDS and cancer for example). There is a procedure to re-position the kidney, move it up. And there is a procedure to remove the kidney. I know it sounds scary, but as I said before, the problem doesn’t always take the worst route.
So just relax, keep things under control with the doctors, and enjoy your family life. Good luck with the pregnancy and best wishes!
Thank you so much for your info. My daughter is 22 weeks pregnant with twin boys. One has an “abdominal” kidney. There is very little info out there so it’s nice to read your continuing saga of caring for your son. You give me hope that our Blake will be just fine. The doc told them not to worry, that he might need to avoid high impact sports like football, but that’s a small price to pay for you son’s health.
Thanks for the blog our little one was just born with the same condition…. We have been told it is common but this does not ease the nerves or concern… We will be going for tests when he is 6 weeks old to see how the kidney is functioning.. There is not a lot of information regarding this condition and the hospital and doctors do not let on too much either.
Hi Brad,
congratulations on the newborn!
I remember how worried I was when I learned that my son has this condition. However now, years later, I must say that it hasn’t been that bad at all. Once in a while we do the tests, to keep an eye on it. But other than that we didn’t have to go through any special treatments or medications. Maxim is just a regular happy 7-year old kid – running, jumping, eating, learning, playing, and all that. I hope this never changes.
I hope your results turn out fine and the kid lives a full and happy life. Good luck!
I went for an Ultrasound Scan today, and found that I have an ectopic kidney. Both kidneys still function as normal. As a twenty-eight year old who has never had any kidney problems or water infections etc, I was in complete shock. I have also had two pregnancies and so this was my 5th Ultrasound and it had never been picked up before?????
Just though I would post this as reassurance for those of you with babies and young children who are obviously concerned and hope that all of your children are as fortunate as I have clearly been.
Hi Debbie.
Thanks a lot for sharing! Much appreciated.
I’ve spoken with a friend of mine, who is a doctor, and asked him how that could be possible that an ectopic kidney hasn’t been noticed on the ultrasound for so long. And he said that it is possible to develop this condition later in life, not necessarily from birth. For women in particular such changes could happen during pregnancies. I thought that was quite interesting.
I am a 20 year old female,, I was diagnosed as a kid,, and was told I have a right ectopic kidney which is also hypoplastic (not sure this is the correct term,, but the kidney is small in size) .. Two doctors told me that this might cause some complications if I decided to get pregnant,, I was wondering what are these complications (if there will be any)? Can it be treated and how?
Note: Growing up I had other health problems.. I was born with a cleft palate (treated now), cholesteatoma in my right ear (also treated now), and some nose problems (treated now), my kidney did not really cause any troubles, I got infections once in a while but nothing more than that.
Thank you!
Hi
I am now 42 & found out about my ectopic left kidney about 10 years ago. It has never affected my life & I only found out because I developed a skin conditionat the time(chronic urticaria) which gave me swelling & proteinuria. When they went to biopsy my kidney they couldn’t find it! They diagnosed minimal change disease ( no structural abnormality) and I have never had any kidney problems since. Not even prone to UTIs. For anyone out there worrying about ectopic kidney can I reassure you that most people who have one don’t know about it! One problem is thought that it can be difficult to see your ovaries on scan so for IVF this could be troublesome!
Hi, thanks for sharing.
hello there. my name is fani and i am from greece. i had an ultrasound during 23rd week of my pregnancy n was told that my little baby boy has an ectopic pelvic kidney on the left side. i have to say that i was terrified because when i was 25 -now i am 31- i had to stop a pregancy because of a chromosomic problem and here the nightmare it comes again. in between i gave birth to a little fantastic girl she is now 3 years old. healthy and happy as can be now waiting for her little brother. i am very thankful about your report for your son and may our fingers be croosed that our little boys will be healthy and happy throughout their lives. please update if youcan about your little one. i also have to say that i have spoken with the best paidonefrologist in greecewho has reassured me that it is not such a big deal. more than that talking with other parents is something that gives me more hope than anything else. best wishes to your family!
Hi Fani,
Maxim is now 10 years old and he is one fine kid. Plays football and spends lots of time on the Internet. :)
As far as his kidney goes – it’s still under-performing (last time we checked it was 45%/55% instead of 50%/50%), but we haven’t had any issues with that yet. Keeping an on it is recommended though. Just in case.
Hi,
First thanks a lot for this valuable post.
We to experienced this in our life.
I will pray to god for all..
I just found out at a 20 week ultrasound that I have a pelvic kidney. I’ve had UTI issues all through pregnancy so far so I’m wondering if that may be the cause. I’m also wondering where the kidney might go as the baby grows. Does anyone have any info on these type of kidneys and pregnancy?
Sadiq,
Hi am 23 years and I have been diagnosed with left ectopic kidney which located in my pelvis but I haven’t had any problem with it till about 3 months ago that I have been experiencing pain in my flank area and back pains and lower abdomen where my left ectopic kidney is located…its first as started as urinary truck infection where by I was urination frequently more than usual and about a month time and started to feel pain in my abdomen, flank area and back pain,I have had blood sample test done to check for creatinine and urea,my creatinine level was a bit higher than normal which was 134 umml/L and urea is 4.2 mmol…..my pain is becoming so severe..I went to the doctor and he prescribed ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin 3 days ago but my flank and back pain is becoming so severe ,especially in the night which is causing sleeping disorders when am trying to sleep at night..could anyone give me any clue because am really suffering with this pain…sometimes the pains could radiate to my right back and flank area a bit…I only have doctors appointment in one month time.
Great information about ectopic kidney . it’s really helpful for the patient