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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : December 18, 2014 2:04 PM IST
As a baby, Mohd Ali (from Iraq) was born with a rare ureterorenal abnormality where his ureter and renal pelvis (the area that drains the kidney and carries urine from the kidney to the urinary bladder) was divided into two on both sides of the body.
His kidneys were segmented into upper and lower halves and the ureters fused together near the entry into the bladder (forming a Y junction). According to specialists, this condition of bilateral ureterorenal duplication is found in 1 in 750 live births or in 0.13% cases globally. The child was diagnosed with ballooning and infection in the lower half of his right kidney during an anti-natal ultrasound which showed an enlargement of the right renal drainage system.
After birth in Iraq, Ali s investigations revealed a poorly functioning lower half of the kidney which was due to an obstruction at the junction of the 'Y'. Due to the obstruction, kidney function had already started deteriorating and there was risk of the other kidney being involved as well.
Ali was brought at the age of three months to Fortis Memorial Research Institute in September 2014 where Dr Vikram Sharma, director, Urology and his team conducted a life-saving surgery, called Laproscopic Pyeloplasty and repaired the blockage by keyhole surgery, finally placing a stent across the blockage. 'The stent which has been placed in the ureter will promote clean healing and will ensure better drainage. This would be removed via a cystoscope (a thin telescope inserted via the urethra) in the next three months post determining his condition,' explained Dr Sharma.
The primary challenge in this condition was the patient s age. 'We wanted to make minimum scars on the child so that the healing process would be quick. The urgency to conduct this procedure was that the infant was under a high risk of damaging his kidney beyond salvage and developing recurring UTI (urinary tract infection) which becomes difficult to detect in an individual this young. (Read: Doctors at Hyderabad hospital perform India s first fetal heart surgery)
Also, if the condition was untreated, it would have led to compromised physical growth in the child, and damaged to the other kidney as well' explained Dr Sharma.'This is an encouraging trend as people are living longer. We just need to make sure we are making the right health policy decisions today to prepare for the health challenges and associated costs that are coming,' Murray added. (Read: 6 medical miracles that will blow your mind)
Photo source: Getty images (picture for representational purpose only)
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