Skip to main content

It's a family affair

Both of my brothers have ADPKD as well.

The odds of a PKD parent having a child with PKD are one in two. The odds of having two with PKD are one in four, or 25%. Three? a 12.5% chance. We "beat the odds" (i.e. the PKD is strong in this line).

Thankfully - for me - my PKD is less aggressive (although still not good). While I have a bit of a "PKD belly", it's not excessive. And instead of true pain, I only suffer from discomfort.

Not so for my little brother.

Despite being nine years younger, his kidneys are MUCH larger. You can actually see the outline of them on his belly.

And instead of discomfort, he experiences true pain.

So much so that he recently went in for surgery to have the size of some of his larger cysts reduced.

The surgery is called Percutaneous (through the skin) Sclerotherapy and is an outpatient procedure.

Larger cysts are identified through a CT scan or MRI, during which the doctor inserts a needle to aspirate (drain) and then sclerose (destroy) the inner lining (often by injecting alcohol) to prevent the cyst from filling with fluid once again.

I'm happy to report that, while sore, my brother says that the pain is down and that the procedure
was a good decision.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Read

Artificial kidney

I have a somewhat fanciful thought of what an artificial kidney would look like. I see a device that is shaped like a kidney (of course) but is completely clear so you could see all the blood circulating through it. Granted, once it's implanted no one's going to see it but - hey - it's my vision. The closest picture I can find of what's in my mind's eye is this image. Granted, that's a picture of a kidney-shaped paper weight and it's a little cloudy, but I know you can picture it too. My, oh my. My imagination is not even close to reality. According to a post from the American Journal of Kidney Diseases , there are three new approaches being explored right now: the automated wearable artificial kidney ('AWAK'), the wearable artificial kidney ('WAK') and the implantable artificial kidney ('IAK'). My money's on the IAK and you'll understand why once I show you the concept pictures of the other two. The AWAK is said to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Oops I did it again

Oops! I advocated for myself again. After getting the results from my latest CBC (Complete Blood Count), my doctor put me on daily Vitamin D-3 to increase levels but did not recommend iron supplementation for (what I consider) borderline anemia. I was glad to hear low Vitamin D might be adding to increased fatigue but I still wondered... I have a history of low Ferritin levels, despite sufficient RBC/hemoglobin counts. So... I made an appointment with an independent lab and had them check my iron levels. Results? My Ferritin level is at 51, well within the 'normal' range of 100-232. Still, I wondered... So I did further research. My low Ferritin level was originally discovered when I was diagnosed with Restless Leg Syndrome (but I may actually have Periodic Limb Movement Disorder). So I looked up literature regarding recommended Ferritin levels given RLS/PLMD. Huh. Treatment recommendations are that Ferritin be no lower than 75 for people with RLS/PLMD. Bingo! ...
Post a Comment
Read more