Megaureter is a condition in which the ureter is enlarged in size, obstructing urine flow and leading to Kidney Failure.
Pain in the abdomen and frequent urinary tract infections are symptoms of megaureter.
Kauvery Hospital Chennai, a unit of Kauvery Group of Hospitals, a leading multispecialty healthcare chain in Tamil Nadu, successfully performed a procedure to treat a 10-year-old boy with an enlarged ureter (the tube from Kidney which carries urine to the bladder). The condition, known as Megaureter, is usually present in children from birth. This can cause the urine to flow back from the bladder to the ureter leading to further enlargement, or a narrowing at the junction of the ureter with the bladder, causing obstruction to the urine flow. The condition may get cured by itself in few years or the ureter may remain enlarged.
The boy, from Myanmar, visited Kauvery Hospital at Chennai with recurring urinary tract infection and pain in the right side of the abdomen. He had been suffering for a year with the symptoms. After examination, he was diagnosed with Megaureter.
Ureters connect the Kidneys to the bladder, and the muscles of the ureters help in pushing the urine down into the bladder, where it gets accumulated. Any abnormality in these muscles or tissues will cause inadequate accumulation of the urine in the bladder, and also result in urine flowing back to the ureters which dilates and result in a megaureter.
Megaureter condition
A team of Urologists and Pediatricians at Kauvery hospital conducted CECT scans and contrast studies to check if the Kidneys were functioning normally. Speaking about the procedure, Dr. Jeevagan. M, Senior Urologist, said, “The assessment of the Kidneys is critical before the surgery. The patient’s kidneys were functioning normally. We performed a surgery where we trimmed the dilated ureter to its normal size and then reconnected it to the bladder at a different and healthy spot. We then placed a temporary stent at the point of reattachment to the bladder to prevent it from shrinking again. We removed the stent 6 weeks later. His bladder functions improved and he became free from infections as well.”
In this child the condition did not resolve on its own and hence required a surgery as he crossed the age threshold. Avoiding the surgery would result in repeated urinary tract infections leading to kidney failure.
Speaking on the successful treatment, Dr. Aravindan Selvaraj-Co-founder and Executive Director of Kauvery Hospital Chennai, said, “Congenital urological conditions can lead to complications as the child grows, and it is important to get the anomaly corrected at the right time. In the recent years, we have been able to diagnose such abnormalities during the prenatal period itself. Children suffer from Urological abnormalities are prone to urinary infections which can lead to kidney failure in their adolescence. This particular condition is rare; we have been able to diagnose this abnormality and provide the right surgical intervention for this 10-year-old child with advanced technology. I appreciate Dr. Jeevagan and his team for treating the child comprehensively, thereby assuring him a good quality of life.”
