Fluid-Filled Sac Surrounding Kidney

[apanda14]

My male cat, who is about 7 months old now, has a fluid-filled sac (cyst) surrounding his kidney. I found this out about 3 months ago (at age 4 months) when he became ill. Currently, he has blood in his urine and is not feeling well. The vet suggests that I make a decision to either remove the sac and see what happens OR remove the kidney, ASAP. Apparently, this is a rare condition and the vet does not know which route is best...
Please help!! I don't know what to do.

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

I believe that the cyst drains directly back into the body cavity where it is readily absorbed.  The fluid is a normal body fluid and is not toxic to the body, i.e.: it is not urine.

[apanda14]

Thank you so much for your reply. I need clarification of one thing: Placing a permanent drain in the pseudocyst, does this mean it would drain into a bag? Please inform.
I will look for a veterinary teaching hospital. This information is greatly appreciated.

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

If your cat were my patient, I would refer you to a veterinary teaching hospital to be evaluated by a veterinary nephrologist, and other specialists.

Is there a veterinary teaching hospital or a referral clinic, with veterinary specialists near you?  

To help make the decision as to whether to have the cyst removed or the kidney removed, or other surgery,  it would be a good idea to have the function of both of your cat's kidney's evaluated by a test called a, "Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) determined by renal scintigraphy".  This test is  performed by a radiologist at a veterinary teaching hospital.

The surgery is also best performed by a boarded veterinary surgeon.

There is a Scientific Article in the "Journal of Feline Medicine" describing surgical treatment in a cat with a similar problem as your cat as follows:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WJC-4RS9STT-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=d2f6929f98512bfa75df5720b7dab830

The surgery in the cat’s case in the article was successful.  The surgery consisted of placing a permanent drain in the pseudocyst, and, NOT with removing the cyst or removing the kidney.