your comprehensive guide
Periodic examinations during pregnancy reveal many medical problems in the fetus, including enlarged kidneys in the male fetus, details of which are as follows.
Everything you need to know about kidney enlargement in the male fetus, or what is known as fetal hydronephrosis, here you will find it in the following:
Kidney enlargement in the male fetus
It is swelling of the kidneys when a lot of urine collects in the kidney pelvis as a result of blockage of the normal flow of urine in the ureter, and thus urine is not allowed to flow into the bladder, which increases pressure on the kidneys and leads to their enlargement.
The severity of kidney enlargement depends on the size of the enlargement and the extent of the obstruction, and if it is not corrected, it can cause the kidneys to lose their ability to produce urine.
Enlarged kidneys may appear in fetuses of both sexes, as one or two fetuses are diagnosed with kidney enlargement out of every 100 pregnancies, but kidney enlargement is more common in male fetuses than in female fetuses.
Causes of kidney enlargement in the male fetus
In some male fetuses with kidney enlargement, specialist doctors may not be able to find a reason for its occurrence, and in many cases kidney enlargement disappears on its own, and this is known as transient hydronephrosis.
My Player placeholder
My Player placeholder
In other cases, kidney enlargement occurs for several reasons, some of which we mention as follows:
Obstruction can occur in various places along the urinary tract.
Reflux or reverse flow of urine.
The fetus does not grow sufficiently, allowing the pelvis to expand more than usual.
The presence of an additional ureter in the fetus.
The fetus has a polycystic kidney, which is a birth defect in which the kidneys do not function properly.
Diagnosis of kidney enlargement in a male fetus
Here are the details about diagnosing kidney enlargement in the fetus as follows
1. Prenatal diagnosis
Specialized doctors can diagnose kidney enlargement in a male fetus before its birth through an ultrasound examination of the pregnant woman, which enables them to see the fetus’s organs and a picture of their structure, which shows that parts of the urinary tract are enlarged, including the kidneys.
In addition, specialist doctors recommend a follow-up ultrasound examination to see if the enlarged kidneys in the male fetus are getting worse or improving over time. Prenatal tests may be performed to try to find the cause of the enlarged kidneys or to confirm the presence of other health problems.
2. Postnatal diagnosis
After the birth of the child, the doctor will conduct a set of tests to find out whether the problem of kidney enlargement still exists and to find out what type of treatment the child needs, including:
Ultrasound examination: During the test, the baby''s kidneys and bladder are examined, which shows whether the enlargement of the kidneys is improving or not.
Kidney tests: These tests show how well the child''s kidneys are working.
X-rays: These pictures show how well the baby''s bladder is working.
Bladder and urethral emptying examination: This examination shows how the child''s urinary tract and bladder function during urination.
Treatment of kidney enlargement in the male fetus
After diagnosing kidney enlargement in a male fetus before birth, the mother must see a pediatric urologist between weeks 20-30 of pregnancy to monitor his condition, as the condition is likely to disappear either before birth or in the first months after birth.
The treatment plan for kidney enlargement is determined by the urologist based on the extent of the kidney enlargement before birth to treat the underlying cause. Kidney enlargement is classified on a scale from grade I, meaning mild kidney enlargement, to grade IV, meaning a severe case of kidney enlargement.
Here are the treatment options for kidney enlargement in a male fetus after birth
Renal enlargement of the first to third degree
The problem of enlarged kidneys here can resolve on its own without receiving treatment over time, and the child is given antibiotics to prevent kidney infections, which often have very few side effects.
Grade 4 renal enlargement
Many doctors resort to surgery to correct the problem, and this solves the underlying problem in the vast majority of cases.
