What is a UPJ obstruction

Ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction is a blockage in the area that connects the renal pelvis (part of the kidney) to one of the tubes (ureters) that move urine to the bladder. It generally occurs when a baby is still growing in the womb. This is called a congenital condition (present from birth).

Is UPJ obstruction serious?

If undiagnosed or left untreated, chronic UPJ obstruction can lead to significant kidney damage and the gradual loss of kidney function. This is especially true of patients who are diagnosed later in life. Urinary tract infections become common and can be more serious than usual.

How long is UPJ obstruction surgery?

The typical length of the operation is three to four hours. The surgery is performed through three small (1 cm) incisions made in the abdomen.

What does UPJ obstruction feel like?

In infants, symptoms of UPJ obstruction may include a mass in the abdomen, blood in the urine, and failure to thrive. Older children and adults may experience intermittent flank pain that worsens with caffeine consumption (or alcohol in adults) and nausea and vomiting.

How common is UPJ in adults?

Though UPJ obstruction occurs in adults less frequently than in neonates, it is not a rarity.

How do they fix a blocked kidney?

Your doctor (urologist) may recommend: A ureteral stent, a hollow tube inserted inside the ureter to keep it open. Percutaneous nephrostomy, during which your doctor inserts a tube through your back to drain the kidney directly.

Can UPJ cause pain?

UPJ obstruction may also cause pain without an infection. Some cases of UPJ obstruction are not clear. Urine may drain normally at times, and at other times be blocked. This causes pain that comes and goes.

How common is UPJ obstruction?

UPJ obstruction occurs in about one of every 1,500 births, and is responsible for about 80% of all swollen urine-collecting systems. Males are affected at more than double the rate of females, and the left kidney is affected about twice as often as the right.

What is a baggy kidney?

Hydronephrosis occurs when a kidney has an excess of fluid due to a backup of urine, often caused by an obstruction in the upper part of the urinary tract.

What is kinking of ureter?

Kinking arises as a consequence of the ureter adjusting length when the kidney descends. Kinking is seen at the area where the ureter is relatively mobile, that is, where it runs in the perirenal space. The boundary of the perirenal portion of the ureter can be determined approximately by finding the level of the CP.

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How painful is a pyeloplasty?

Is a pyeloplasty painful? You or your child may feel some pain after pyeloplasty. The pain may go away after a week and you or your child will be given medications to help minimize this pain.

What is a ureteral reimplantation?

The ureters are the tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Ureteral reimplantation is surgery to change the position of these tubes where they enter the bladder wall.

Can kidneys be removed?

Nephrectomy (nephro = kidney, ectomy = removal) is the surgical removal of a kidney. The procedure is done to treat kidney cancer as well as other kidney diseases and injuries. Nephrectomy is also done to remove a healthy kidney from a donor (either living or deceased) for transplantation.

What is puj narrowing?

PUJ obstruction refers to a narrowing of the junction, resulting in obstruction to the flow of the urine from the kidney to the ureter. The condition affects approximately one person in every 1000 adults and tends to occur more in men.

Can UPJ obstruction cause high blood pressure?

Hypertension is an incompletely understood complication of UPJ obstruction. Animal and human models have implicated the renin–angiotensin system, oxidative stress, nitric oxide dysregu- lation and renal sympathetic nerve activity in its pathogenesis.

Is UPJ obstruction genetic?

Minimal hydronephrosis is not genetic and is not hereditary. However, hydronephrosis may coincidentally occur in future pregnancies. If UPJ obstruction is determined to be the cause of the hydronephrosis, the chances for future children with the same obstruction may be as high as 50 percent.

What is UPJ stone?

UPJ stones usually produce significant blockage of the ureter at the UPJ and block urine flow. As a result, urine backs up in the kidney causing dilatation of the renal pelvis and renal calices. This dilatation is called hydronephrosis.

Is drinking a lot of water good for your kidneys?

Water helps the kidneys remove wastes from your blood in the form of urine. Water also helps keep your blood vessels open so that blood can travel freely to your kidneys, and deliver essential nutrients to them. But if you become dehydrated, then it is more difficult for this delivery system to work.

What color is urine when your kidneys are failing?

Brown, red, or purple urine Kidneys make urine, so when the kidneys are failing, the urine may change. How? You may urinate less often, or in smaller amounts than usual, with dark-colored urine. Your urine may contain blood.

What are the signs that something is wrong with your kidneys?

• You’re more tired, have less energy or are having trouble concentrating. …
• You’re having trouble sleeping. …
• You have dry and itchy skin. …
• You feel the need to urinate more often. …
• You see blood in your urine. …
• Your urine is foamy. …
• You’re experiencing persistent puffiness around your eyes.

What does it feel like when your kidneys hurt?

Kidney pain is usually a constant dull ache deep in your right or left flank, or both flanks, that often gets worse when someone gently hits the area. Only one kidney is usually affected in most conditions, so you typically feel pain on only one side of your back.

How do they flush your kidneys in the hospital?

Hemodialysis is a procedure where a dialysis machine and a special filter called an artificial kidney, or a dialyzer, are used to clean your blood. To get your blood into the dialyzer, the doctor needs to make an access, or entrance, into your blood vessels. This is done with minor surgery, usually to your arm.

Is kidney pain felt in front or back?

Unlike back pain, which usually occurs in the lower back, kidney pain is deeper and higher up the back. The kidneys can be found underneath the ribcage, on each side of the spine. Pain from the kidneys is felt in the sides, or in the middle to upper back (most often under the ribs, to the right or left of the spine).

Does hydronephrosis go away?

In some cases, hydronephrosis is mild and goes away on its own without treatment. In other cases, hydronephrosis may be a sign of a blockage in the urinary tract or reflux—or back up—of urine from the bladder to the kidney that needs treatment.

What causes Hydroureter?

Hydroureter refers to dilation of the ureter(s) and is most often caused by obstruction of urine outflow due to blockage of the ureter(s) by calculi, chronic inflammation, luminal or intramural neoplasia, or accidental ligation during surgery.

What are the symptoms of a blocked ureter?

• Pain.
• Changes in the amount of urine produced.
• Difficulty urinating.
• Blood in the urine.
• Repeated urinary tract infections.
• High blood pressure (hypertension)

Can a damaged ureter be fixed?

A pelvic ureteral injury should be repaired with ureteral reimplantation with/without psoas hitch and/or Boari flap. Abdominal ureter injury can be repaired by UU, TUU, or ureteral reimplantation.

What causes a tortuous ureter?

Primary tortuous ureters are usually caused by dysplasia of the ureteral muscle. These ureters are classified as an individual pathological type. Their treat- ment is different from other pathological types of the ureters. The obstruction or stricture causes gradual de- velopment of hydronephrosis.

How stent is remove after pyeloplasty?

The stent is removed in the operating room a few weeks after surgery. This is a same day surgery procedure. Another tube, called a drain, may be inserted in the area around the kidney and ureter to drain extra fluid that can collect during and after surgery. Once the drainage stops the drain is removed at the bedside.

How long does it take to recover from open pyeloplasty surgery?

The internal healing after open surgery takes 3 – 4 weeks.

How long does it take to recover from laparoscopic pyeloplasty?

It will take 10-14 days to recover fully from the procedure and most people can return to normal activities after 2-4 weeks. You may find that the ureteric stent, the lower end of which sits in the bladder, causes some pain when you pass urine and you may also see blood in the urine as a result of the stent.