ultrasound question

That one kidney is smaller than the other.

How 'bout you do something insane and ask your doctor?

Hi there,

The doctor or technician didn't offer any opinions? No, "hmm, looks a bit small, but that's fine," or "This is potentially serious, we need to follow up on this."? Is it why you have another scheduled in a couple of weeks?

I have no medical expertise here at all but I know that people donate kidneys, and are fine with just one.

Hope you find the answers you are seeking, don't hesitate to pester your own doctor for this info.

Doc said they will follow up with another ultrasound. She didn't say anything more.
Other than this, baby is fine. Please share some info if you know what it could be.

(Cross posted.)

OK, so if it's a follow-up ultrasound, it seems like it could potentially be an issue.

I do think you're justified in contacting your doctor -- phone, email, whatever -- and asking for further details. A couple of weeks is a long time to be in limbo.

Actually, soz, you'd be suprised at how many people's doctors don't offer up information at an appointment. Which is weird....but seems to be true.

What I don't get is why people don't ask....

My doctor probably thinks I am a nut. I ask him about EVERYTHING. He doesn't know what I'm thinking.

When I asked the doc more questions, she said, she couldn't really say anything other than that. She said we should wait for the next ultrasound and see the result.
Any moms who have come across a situation like this ? or do you know moms who experienced this..?

Oh and I didn't mean to sound so mean in my first post.

I just think that you should ask the man (or woman) you are paying to take care of you during this time.

I know they don't offer -- pisses me off to no end. I'm a pester-er, there (at the office) if I remember, afterwards if I don't.

I just saw some study or something about how often people leave the doctor's office without adequate information. Forget the figures, but I think it was more than 50%.

Me too. I call about once a week with something. It's his job! And while you are all great help here, you aren't doctors and don't know my medical history and all that jazz.

Thanks

Hope somebody who knows about it gets back with some info.

momtoshrsha, I think what we're saying is that the one who knows the most about it is your doctor.

Any reason not to follow up?

I can't give you any insight on this particular issue, however, one thing that was explained to me by my doctor and technician is that when growing in the fetus, babies can grow in different areas at different rates. So the "norm" could be that both kidneys should be this size, however, your baby just has to be a bit different and perhaps the other kidney is just not caught up yet.

This was all explained to me before going to the ultrasound so I wouldn't be alarmed if one area wasn't as developed as the "norm". I would ask the doctor though for clarification if it is a real concern or just something similar to how I described. It is really unfair for the doctor to leave in the dark. I think sometimes doctors forget what seems basic and every day stuff is all new and not every day for us non-medical people.

Also, is there a midwife or nurse that you could speak with? Sometimes they are a bit better at explaining things. I ended up seeing my midwife over my doctor for this reason much more often.

What happens if the child has only one functioning kidney?

In cases where only one kidney is affected, the other kidney is usually capable of increasing in size and function to compensate for the abnormal kidney. Children with only one normal kidney still have enough kidney function to grow and develop normally.

www.kidney.org

Hi, momtoshrsha,
I have a 19-mo daughter. I can't quite recall exactly how far along I was with her - but it was at the ultrasound where they finally can tell you the gender of the baby - that we were told about one of her kidney's being smaller.

In our case, the ultrasound technician didn't say anything to us apart from confirming the baby's sex. She just had us wait till a doctor came to talk to us. Basically, what the doc told us was that a significant percentage of babies can show the kidney irregularity at early ultrasounds, but mostly they all correct themselves as they grow. All she wanted us to do was make sure was that:
1) my gynec conducted more frequent ultrasounds to keep tracking the kidney development pre-natal
2) and post-natally, if there was still a difference in the two kidneys, the baby's pediatrican would need ensure that M (my daughter) underwent a couple ultrasounds, followed by a more intrusive procedure to make sure that the kidney was functioning normally(excuse my fuzziness on the details - it's been a while).

We did all of the above. I underwent a few more ultrasounds than most preg women undergo to keep an eye on baby's kidney. After M was born, she had an ultrasound and it was determined that there was still a different (though to a much lesser degree) between the two kidneys. Enough though, to warrant the more intrusive procedure where a thinner than a thread had to be inserted into her 'pee-hole' (sorry to be simplistic) to inject a dye into her kidney and to check for malfunction. Thankfully, everything was normal, but it was a little stressful.

All the docs kept telling me though (my gynec as well as M's pediatrician and docs who interpreted the ultrasound, post-natal procedure (the name of which will come to me)) that it is very common these days for babies to show irregular kidneys. Some even suggested that it is because modern technology is so advanced and can map so precisely the size of each organ, that we see this so much more frequently.

I would DEFINITELY talk some more to your doc, demand more information, talk about prognoses and short/ long-term implications. Don't leave it at just what you've been told so far. Another thing we did, since we had picked M's pediatrician so far in advance, we were able to talk to her as well - get her opinion. The more information you have, the better.

Thank you so much for your elaborate response.. Atleast now I know what to expect.
I have an ultrasound next week when I am almost 24 weeks. I'll speak to my doc and find out what exactly is going on. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Thank god everything was normal with your angel.