Can anyone tell me more about Duplex Kydney?

I was told by my GP last year that I have Duplex Kidney on the left side. Apparently they have known since I was 19 but I was never told until last year. I have spent a lot of my adult like in pain, suffering from recurrent Kidney infections, I have had Kidney Stones twice and have been addmitted to hospital 5 times with infections. My duplex kidney is complete and I have 2 ureters from the left kidney into the bladder and this in itself causes a lot of my kidney infections. I also have an under-active thyriod, can anyone tell me if the hyperthyroidism is linked to the duplex kidney?????
Thanx Maureen

[evo123]

Hi,

My eldest daughter has a duplex kidney system on the right side, with uretrocele and urinary reflux.  She was diagnosed at 6 weeks old and we nearly lost her as the doctors said she just had a virus and kept turning me away.  She ended up with septicemia!!! It was a UTI she had and this infected her blood.  She had an ultrasound of her kidneys once an infection was found and her diagnosis was made.  She is 7 now and doing well.  She suffered many many UTI's until she was about 3 years old and was on propholactic antibiotics for several years.  She had a sting operation to try and relieve the reflux (which was unsuccessful) and another operation as her uretrocele had filled with infection.  Her reflux has now calmed (many do) and she hasn't had an infection for approx 4 years now.  She has scarring to her kidney from the infections and has regular check ups, scans and her bp measured.  When she was younger her dr wanted to remove this duplex but I am now glad I never went ahead with it as it would have been quite a big operation for her.

A duplex kidney on its/their own does not normally cause an infection many people have this and never know until a scan is carried out for other reasons.  They also run in families so I have had my other two children scanned but they do not have this.  I would ask them to test to see if you have an urinary reflux, with double ureters this is common.  If you do this would explain the many UTI's and they would also put you on a low dose antibiotic as a propholactic to prevent any more.

[kent2505]

I have a duplex kidney on the right side , and my 3 months  daughter has a duplex kidney system on the right side also....

[blondieblues]

I have recently found out i have a duplex kideny on my right side and the doctor said it may be that an extra tube hasn't fully formed or has formed and that is why i am getting re-current infections, i am on antibiotics this week and was on 2month antibiotics, fed up, you get thrush, tender tummy, tiredness, pain when you pee and i want it to be more thoroughly investigated, after 2 years of re-current infections and sensitivity to all it's really annoying!!! My doctor said if you get UTI one more time i will refer you to kidney consultant. And was told kidney Ops aren't the easiest to perform, but i want to be able to stop thinking about the fact i am going to get a UTI most probably, it demotivates you, cos it's bloody sore......

[evo123]

A duplex kidney alone will not cause you to have recurrent UTI's.  My daughters infections were caused by a reflux of urine back to her kidney from the extra tube she has.  This sounds like this may be happening to you also.  You really need to be placed on a prophalactic (spelling!) antibiotic to prevent infections from ocurring.  If you continue to get infections and this is causing scarring to your kidneys then I would seriously think about surgery.  My daughter had 2 day case surgeries.  One of these was called a sting operation, to try and alter the angle that the extra tube was resting so her reflux would be corrected.  This did fail in her but luckily as she grew it altered angle on it's own.  I would not rush into surgery to remove the duplex.  They wanted to remove my daughters when she was a few month sold but now i'm glad I said no.  You definately need to be under the care of a renal team - who will monitor you and do some more testing.  

[blondieblues]

Thank you, your information has giving me more insight into what my options are, my doc has referred me on to the kidney specialist team so i will askk them lots of questions and hopefully they will perform some tests that will give me a clearer answer as the structure of the duplex kidney was very vague, don't know if there is 2 or one tube or half a tube etc Did they discuss pregnancy with you?? It's just if i get pregnant again would the duplex kidney be an issue??? Thanks again for you help :-)

[evo123]

I did ask my daughters consultants about when shes old enough to become pregnant and so on and they did not seem to have any concerns for her carrying but did mention that it is heriditary so she would have extra scans to check the baby's kidneys and bladder.  Then when her children were born they would have an ultrasound to check again.  I have another 2 children and when they were a couple of weeks old they had ultrasounds to check their kidney systems, and luckily they are both okay.  If one sibling has this condition there is a chance their brothers/sisters may also have it.  

We nearly lost my daughter through this when she was a few weeks old as we didn't know she had it, she had a UTI that had infected her blood stream.  But if you are aware that this is present it is usually controlled and managed well and I wouldn't let it put you off having/extending your family.  

If you already have children, have they experienced a UTI?  If so it would be wise to have them scanned also, especially as your symptoms have only been present for the past few years.  

Please ask to be placed on a prophalactic antibiotic if you are experiencing frequent UTI's and then discuss your options with your doctors.  

[CelticMairin]

I have lived with a left duplex kidney and double ureters for 58 years.  I had recurring bouts of pyelo-nephritis (similar to cystitis but encompassing the kidney as well as the bladder) from the age of  7 until I was 25 years old.  I was diagnosed when I was about 19 years old.  The number of infections increased significantly throughout my teens and early twenties and especially when I was sexually active.  It was determined that although I had separate double ureters, I was experiencing reflux due to them draining through a common opening into the bladder.  The valve at that location was too small to cover the size of the opening, which had enlarged to accommodate both ureters.

At the age of 25, I had surgery to separate and re-implant the double ureters into my bladder.  By doing this, they drained through their own separate openings in the bladder and each had its own valve constructed to prevent the back-flow of urine into the kidney.  The surgery was confined to my bladder and the only scar is a smiley face just above my pubic hair with a slightly larger depression in the middle of the scar.  The depression is where an opening was made for a super-pubic catheter to drain the urine into an external bag for about 10 days while I was in the hospital (in January 1976 they kept people in the hospital longer than they do now).  I was off work for about 6 weeks.  

The surgery resulted in a significant reduction in the number of bladder/kidney infections I experienced together with a substantial improvement in my health.  However, I did experience a few infections after the surgery but usually at particularly stressful times in my life.  I remember two occasions in particular.  In August 1976 (the year of my surgery) I was married and while on my camping honeymoon was forced to seek medical help for yet another UTI.  Of course the nurses at the hospital at first labelled it "honeymoon cystitis", which I guess is not uncommon in new brides.  I set them straight when I showed them my scar.  I had no problems during my two pregnancies in 1978 & 1980, but developed a UTI again in June 1988 (12 years post surgery) while visiting my family in the UK.  I think that is the last one I had, so I have been UTI free for 22 years.  If I try to hold back my urine when my bladder is very full, I will sometimes experience pain high on my left side.  It feels like reflux so maybe I am pushing the limits a bit.  All in all, I am well and happy that I had the corrective surgery when I did.  I wish you good luck and a long healthy life.

[Suesanjb2]

My son went into "shutdown" aged 3.5wks.  He was diagnosed with a serious UTI.
On investigation Duplex kidney system was diagnosed.  One kidney had 2 ureters - one of which was malformed, allowing urine to backflow into the kidney causing the UTI.  He was very poorly.

Following his recovery he was put on the antibiotic Trimethoprim, prophylactically, for a total of 2yrs.  He had repeated dye & scan procedures to see if with his growing body his ureter would straighten out & perform properly.

It didnt.  

At aged 2yrs, my precious son had an op at Guys Hospital, London to removed the malformed ureter & "dead" kidney [about 2/3 had died as a result of his initial UTI].  He stayed on prophylactic Trimethoprim for a further 6mnths.

He is now 16yrs..............and has had no further problems.

Good luck

[leojuly]

I was diagnosed last year during my pregnancy that I had a duplex kidney and didn't really quite know what it meant and to be quite honest I still don't.
Mine is my left kidney that seems to be the problem whilst my right seems healthy. The left one aches daily and is tender and I get sharp stabbing pain in it when it kicks off. I had recurring UTI's through my pregnancy and a kidney infection which had me hospitalized. Now, my daughter is 8months and is healthy so I back at the Dr's now investigating what is happening, but so far they cannot explain what is going on.
Also recently I get a very strong pain in my lower left abdomen. If anyone can inform me of the causes or options or any info really i would be very grateful.

[nelliebell]

My daughter was just diagnosed with Duplex Kidney and Kidney Reflux.  My question is but can't get answers or find any information is weight gain.  She had a VCUG and all the fluids that came out - WOW; 3 1/2 months later, she has gained weight again, and is saying her lower back and side hurts periodically (just as it did before) those were the only signs before she got really sick.  And they would only hurt when exercising -- so of course I didn't think anything about a kidney infection...  any further information anyone has is welcomed.  

[Godwin79]

I am 24wks pregnant and had an ultrasound which they picked up my baby has a duplex kidney on the right side with 2 ureters. I just need to know more about it and what happens from here??? Please help???

[ayc87]

i have duplex kidneys on my right side have always suffered with kidney problems UTI's kidney stones etc but it wasnt until i was 20weeks pregnant i was rushed into hospital and they found i had duplex kidneys, was bit strange to me as i had had so may kidney problems in the past and they were only just picking it up now, but i was in hospital for a while as it could have brought on premature labour. if you think you have alot of UTI's now with duplex kidneys wait until you get pregnant lol. its something i think if you get pregnant you will struggle with no matter what you do. if you do become pregnant id just advise you ask them to take a bit more close  monitoring with you as nearly losing my son was the worst thing that could of happened all because it had never been picked up properly before