For the past year (April 08 to the present) i've been dealing with a damaged left kidney caused by a crossing artery blocking my ureter. I had a robotic UPJ obstruction last summer which was successful until October of 2008 when i started to feel left flank pain again. Last week i had the partial blockage (from a stitch from the original procedure) moved and i currently have a ureteral stent in keeping the ureter open while healing. I've been told by many urologist i've seen after plenty of renal scans, that the kidney will not regain more function (right now its at 25%) but because the stent is in now it is draining properly.
4 days after my most recent procedure however, i started to feel the same swollen flank pain i had that triggered all this in the first place. My confusion is that the stent is currently in while my back is hurting. My question is can an unblocked yet severely enlarged kidney cause back pain? I have been told that only a blockage can cause discomfort and you don't feel your kidney only the obstruction to and from your kidney. My doctor told me if i have back pain with the stent in that it might be other factors (ie pinched nerve, slipped disk) which i find hard to believe because it is the exact swollen, numb and bruised type feeling that helped me realize my kidney problems in the first place. Help?
Hopefully this makes sense and I've explained it well enough, hope to hear from someone soon on it.