Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Method of Kidney Transplant Surgery
Chronic kidney disease is a very serious business. It might have been brought on by a chronic urinary tract infection which was neglected; type 2 diabetes mellitus; high blood pressure; smoking; injury; even the kind of food you eat, and alcoholism. Eventually, when the kidneys have been overstressed for too long a time, there might be kidney failure. Since kidneys which are healthy produce erythropoietin (EPO) to generate red blood corpuscles, damaged kidneys cause serious anaemia.
Symptoms of Kidney Failure
The kidneys are a critical part of the excretory system. One of their major functions is to eliminate wastes from the body. When such wastes are retained in the body, it shows up as itching which in itself is a symptom of kidney damage. However, it is supposed to retain nutrients like proteins when filtering out wastes. So, when a patient begins to lose protein in the urine; the resultant weakness and emaciation should warn the physician that there are probably more serious underlying issues which require urgent attention. Fever, vomiting, back pain, and swelling of the face, hands, and feet are indications that all is not well with your kidneys.
Don’t ignore or underestimate these symptoms: Hepatitis C has not received the attention it should as one of the causes of kidney damage, and even failure. Not only does the situation become worrisome as any chronic kidney disease is potentially life-threatening; it could lead to acute kidney injury (AKI) when the kidneys stop functioning in a short time. Further, if you have been feeling tired all the time, colder than you should, disoriented, occasionally dizzy, loss of taste, suffering from bad breath, or have to get up several times in the night; you should see your doctor immediately.
How Is End-Stage Renal Disease Diagnosed?
When your doctor suspects kidney failure or at least serious damage, then urine tests will be ordered to check for creatinine and urea levels. If traces of protein are discovered, then it is a clear indication of kidney damage. When the colour and density of the urine change, that also becomes an indicator of kidneys becoming dysfunctional. Inability to pass urine; copious or scant quantity of urine; and pain during urination are often what brings the patient to the doctor’s chamber. If the pathological tests indicate the presence of traces blood, then there has already been grave kidney damage.
Prognosis and Treatment
The prognosis for kidney failure is not encouraging as one of the major interventions are a kidney transplant. Quite often, doctors try to prevent surgery by opting for dialysis. The doctors might decide against kidney transplant if the patient is severely diabetic; has prostate or other cancer; has a severe infection such as tuberculosis; is obese; has any known liver disease like hepatitis; is known to take harmful drugs; has the severe cardiovascular disease; or is an alcoholic. In certain cases, the doctors don’t even suggest kidney transplant if the patient is poor as the medication that will need to be taken lifelong post-surgery would be as expensive as the operation itself. Instead, the doctors suggest interventions which would improve quality of life, rather than prolonging the distress.
Kidney Transplant Depends on Donors
If the patient can receive a healthy kidney from within the family, then it becomes easier for the surgeon as the transplant can be planned with adequate preparation. A healthy, young individual can donate one of his/her kidneys, and get on with the business of living with just one kidney. When it isn’t possible to find a live donor, then the patient has to wait for months, sometimes even years to find an appropriate match with a dead donor. Remember, the Indian laws don’t permit anyone other than a family member or close relative to be a live donor. These regulations came into being to prevent organ trafficking.
Remove These Myths and Misconceptions
Nobody can live with just one kidney. Well, they can as the body compensates for the loss of one kidney. The remaining healthy kidney simply grows a bit and works for two.
After a kidney transplant, you get bedridden. You can’t participate in high impact sports like football but can resume normal living, and activities which don’t involve hectic running, sliding, or jumping.
Last updated on: September 25, 2018
Originally published at www.aimsindia.com on September 25, 2018.
