From Times Life Style, by Paul Becker
What Are Kidney Cysts? Kidney Cysts Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments
Kidney cysts are one of the many factors that affect the kidney health. A cyst is a small fluid-filled sac which forms inside the kidneys. Kidneys are responsible for filtering out the wastes from the bloodstream and dispose it out from the body in the form of urine. An individual can suffer from both single cyst and multiple cysts.
The human kidneys are affected by two types of cysts – simple cysts and polycystic kidney disease. A simple cyst is formed of thin walls and is usually an individual cyst filled with a water-like fluid. A simple cyst doesn’t harm the kidney health nor does it affect its functioning.
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), on the other hand, is an inherited condition in which the patient suffers from multiple cysts inside his/her kidneys. PKD can harm the kidneys in a bad way. The more it grows the more harm it does.
However, the cysts don’t cause any symptoms and are usually harmless. An individual may not even realize that he/she has cysts in his/her kidneys until he/she has undergone a test for some reason.
The size of a kidney cyst and what does it mean
In normal cases, the cysts are too small to be seen with the naked eye. The doctors use microscope to examine such cysts. However, in case of PKD, the cysts can sometimes grow as large as a tennis ball. Larger cysts pose as a threat to other organs as they can press against the nearby organs causing severe pain.
Kidney Cyst Symptoms
Simple cysts are known for not causing any symptoms but in case of PKD, when the cysts grow larger and become infectious; it can cause the following symptoms.
For Simple Cyst
Dark urine
Blood in the urine
Uncontrollable bladder
Swelling of the abdomen
Upper abdomen pain
Back pain, upper body pain, pain in the side between the pelvis and ribs. Happens when the cyst tends to pop or burst.
Fever
For Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD)
Blood in the urine
Upper body pain, pain in the sides and back
High blood pressure
Kidney cysts causes and risk factors
The mystery behind how simple cysts are formed is still a mystery. The doctors don’t know the exact reason why simple cysts are formed, but they do have few possible explanations.
A human kidney is composed of millions of tiny tubules that collect the urine. The theory says that when these tubules get blocked due to some reason or swell up or fill with liquid, cysts may start to grow.
Another theory suggests that when small pouches known as diverticula filled with liquid starts forming in the weakened areas of the tubules, it may trigger the cyst formation.
Cysts are likely to affect an individual when he/she gets older. 40 years is the cyst triggering age. By the age 40, 25% of the people are likely to get affected by the simple cyst. However, men are more prone to developing cysts in their kidneys as compared to women.
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), on the other hand, is caused mostly because of the inheritance. Those with a family history of cysts are more likely to get affected.
Cyst Complications
Cysts are not that complicated but sometimes it can lead to;
High blood pressure
Burst cyst
Infection in the cyst
Blockage of urine
PKD, on the other hand, can easily damage the kidney health with time.
Cyst Treatment
Urologists are the one who deals with patients suffering from kidney complications. The urologist will take the urine and blood sample of the patient to see how his/her kidneys are functioning.
For diagnosing cysts, the urologist will perform the following tests:
Computer Tomography (CT) Scan
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Scan
Ultrasound
Simple cysts can be easily cured by consuming probiotic kidney health supplement and other healthy foods. Also, there are several medications for cysts prescribed by the doctors.
In case of PKD, the treatment includes:
Surgery – cysts are removed laparoscopically by making small multiple incisions.
Sclerotherapy – in sclerotherapy, the doctor drains out the cyst. The doctor uses an ultrasound for navigation and the patient is given simple anesthesia as it can be a painful affair.
Gift of Life
From People
Though he didn’t know her, a former Navy SEAL came to a mother’s rescue just as pressure was mounting to find her a life-saving organ donor.
As 35-year-old Melinda Ray’s health deteriorated due to a polycystic kidney disease that spread to her liver, she and her husband, James Ray, were desperate to find a transplant. The condition caused continually spreading cysts to develop on Melinda’s liver, which led to it growing larger in size and placing stress on the rest of the organs in the increasingly cramped space.
The couple, who have three children and live in Colorado, came up empty-handed in their search for donor candidates, and as Melinda’s strength weakened, she turned to Facebook in September that detailed her emotional ordeal and offered a last-ditch call for help.
That Facebook message reached Robin Ihnfeldt, a best friend of Melinda’s sister, who texted the story to her husband, Jeff Bramstedt. The former 13-year Navy SEAL veteran instantly felt compelled to help the woman he had never met.
“When my wife told me about it, it just wasn’t okay with me that somebody was going to die,” Bramstedt, 47, of San Diego, California, tells PEOPLE. “It took me literally two seconds to make a decision and I just said, ‘I’ll do it, let’s go.’ ”
With Bramstedt on board, he and his wife both signed up to go through the screening process to find out if they were matches. Though his wife didn’t qualify because doctors discovered her blood clotted too quickly to undergo the surgery, Bramstedt continued on with the screening process, answering questions about his social history and taking blood samples, until doctors flew him out for more intensive tests. Then, around Thanksgiving, he returned to UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital for the pre-op, where he met Melinda and James for the first time.
“As soon as I saw her, I was just instantly connected to her. They’re just such amazing people,” Bramstedt recalls. “We just talked for about an hour, and just got to learn about each other’s families, and we knew right away we were going to be connected for life.”
After doctors solidified Bramstedt as a match, he agreed to undergo a 10-hour-long surgery to give Melinda 30 percent of his liver that would eventually regenerate. Doctors explained he would be placing himself at great risk by undergoing the operation, but not one to let danger get in the way of things, Bramstedt—a movie stuntman and a skydiving instructor at Skydive San Diego—was set on going through with it.
On Dec. 4, the pair underwent successful surgeries, led by Dr. Elizabeth Pomfret. Bramstedt then spent two days recovering in the ICU, and once he was released, he and his wife stayed with a friend in Denver as he recuperated.
“My wife monitored my meds, and took care of me,” he says. “I don’t listen to doctor’s orders very well, so she was definitely the doctor’s lieutenant on that—very strict!”
Going on three weeks after the operation, Bramstedt says he is running on about a “three-hour battery” and is sleeping much of the day. But things are getting better, and he keeps in contact with Melinda and James often.
“I never had a little sister before, and now I do,” Bramstedt says. “I love her just like she was family, like she was a blood relative. In essence, she kind of is, we share DNA at this point. She’s stoked on life, and I’m excited for her.”
He says the experience changed the way he views the world, and he hopes other healthy people are inspired to become organ donors and support services such as those provided by UCHealth.
“If you have health and are strong, and if you are young and have all this energy and love to be active, maybe you are a prime candidate for somebody and can affect their lives in a positive way,” he says. “An average guy can step up and be a hero to somebody whose life is going to end. Hopefully, we can make my and Melinda’s story not so extraordinary.”
From Chicago Tribune, by Donna Vickroy
It's hard to top the gift Rich Matula soon will be receiving from his friend, Mike Blake.
"It's humbling," Matula said. "It's an amazing sacrifice."
On Jan. 9, Blake, an accountant from New Lenox, will donate a kidney to Matula, a marketing manager from Homewood.
The donation will not only enable Matula, who was born with polycystic kidney disease, to avoid having to go on dialysis, it should enable him to continue his lifelong pursuit of running.
Maybe, Matula joked, he might even be able to "beat Mike in a race."
Matula, who is married and has a 5-year-old son and 20-year-old stepdaughter, has been coach for the Tinley Track and Trail running club for 15 years.
The group is made up of 50 men and women from the south suburbs and Northwest Indiana, committed to improving their times. They practice in Tinley Park, Orland Park and Palos Heights, and compete in events, from 5Ks to the Boston and New York City marathons.
Blake is a longtime member. He is known for his speed, and he acted fast last year when he learned the severity of Matula's condition.
"I had called him for some running advice," Blake said.
During the conversation, Blake asked Matula about his kidney function. When he learned it had dropped to 16 percent and that his beloved coach was on the waiting list for a transplant, he offered to get tested.
That initial testing took place exactly one year before the transplant surgery is set to occur.
As extraordinary as his gift is, Blake said any member of the club would have offered to donate a kidney to Matula if he hadn't beaten them to it.
"Rich is so loved by this group," Blake said. "Anyone would do this for him. I just happened to be the one who got tested first."
Dr. Yolanda Becker, surgeon and director of the kidney and pancreas program at the University of Chicago, where the transplant surgery is scheduled to take place, said, "This is the ultimate Christmas gift; it is truly the gift of life."
The transplant, she said, "is going to change Rich's life, in terms of how he feels."
She said Matula, who is system director for customer relationship management at Presence Health, helped himself as much as he could by staying healthy and staying fit, even as his kidney function declined, and his energy level waned.
"He has done all the right things to keep himself as healthy as possible for as long as possible," Becker said.
But, she added, he also is lucky to have a donor who is not only a close friend, but one who is also in great shape.
According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (unos.org/), there are 103,000 patients on the kidney transplant waiting list.
"In a typical year, only about 16,000 transplants will take place, and of those, just over 5,000 are from living donors," Becker said. "So there's a huge inequity, and people die on the waiting list."
The surgery will leave both men with one healthy, efficient kidney and that, Becker said, is all a healthy human needs to live a "normal lifespan and a normal lifestyle."
The recipient's insurance pays for the donor's workup, she said, and should something befall the donor's kidney function in the future, he would be moved to the top of the donor waiting list.
Becker said as "wonderful" as it is for the recipient, organ donation is also an opportunity for the donor to change someone's life.
That sentiment was something close to Blake's heart. He said in addition to wanting to help his friend, he embraced the chance to impact another human being.
"My wife did in-home day care for years. She affected a lot of people's lives. These (grown) kids still come and visit her. I've always been a little envious of her ability to impact others," Blake said.
"I'm an accountant. In my job I don't affect anyone's life in a positive way. I know I affect my children's lives and my wife's life, but it feels good to affect someone else's life," he said.
Blake and Matula are 53, in the same age group for competing.
"When I was healthier," Matula said, "we'd compete against each other. Mike probably beat me 80 percent of the time."
He's hoping the new kidney will bring some new bragging rights, as well.
"That's the real reason I'm giving it to him," Blake joked. "I got tired of his kidney excuse. So now when I beat him, it'll be even more awesome because he'll have three kidneys to my one."
On a serious note, Blake said he doesn't expect the surgery to affect his running ability, but if it does, "it still will have been well worth it.
"If I was in my prime," he said, "it might matter. But I'd still do this for him."
Club member Donnie Smith, who lives in St. John, Ind., said the whole team is pulling for the man who has been a support and an inspiration to each of them over the years.
"Rich cares. He sees everything. He pushes us to be our best," said Smith, a 44-year-old commodities broker.
There's a deep admiration, Smith said, "for people who inspire you to do your best work.
"Rich is a natural coach," he said.
For the team to be able to turn the tables and encourage him through the surgery is only fitting, he said.
When Rudy Cvetkovich, of Homer Glen, joined the group eight years ago, "I was kind of slow."
Matula and the other runners, he said, "pushed me to reach my potential."
This past year, Cvetkovich, 51, qualified for the Boston Marathon.
"These guys are my best friends," Matula said. "We race together, we train together. Through the blood, sweat and tears, you form a brotherhood."
On the day of transplant, Blake's surgery is expected to start two hours before Matula's.
"As soon as my kidney comes out, he'll be ready to receive it," Blake said.
"We've been told we could end up in rooms next to each other," he added.
If so, the two will be able to rib each other during recovery.
"Mike has the worst sense of direction," Matula said. "So, we're kind of worried that might pass over with his kidney."
dvickroy@tribpub.com
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