BENGALURU: A three-week-old premature baby, weighing just 1.4 kg, underwent a rare kidney surgery at Birthright by Rainbow Children's Hospital, Bannerghatta, recently.
The baby was born through in-vitro fertilisation as the parents, who were married for 10 years, were not able to have a baby.
When the expectant mother underwent an anomaly scan, which is a detailed scan at around 20 weeks of pregnancy when doctors examine each part of the foetus's body, it was noticed that the baby’s kidney was abnormal and had to be treated risking its life or be terminated.
The doctors were unsure of the abnormal kidney’s impact on the baby’s health and how long the baby would live once it was born. But the parents decided to go ahead with the delivery and to provide the necessary treatment to save the baby.
After unsuccessfully visiting various hospitals in the city, the doctors at RCH assured the parents of saving the foetus.
But another shock awaited the parents as there was a premature leakage of amniotic fluid and the doctors had to perform an emergency Caesarean section. The premature newborn baby weighed only 1.4 kilos and had to be put on ventilator support.
The baby developed fresh health complications as its stomach filled with water and there was an enlargement of its right kidney, which is medically known as Pelvi-Ureteric junction obstruction, which is a partial or total blockage at the place where the kidney and the urethra, the tube that carries urine to the bladder, are joined.
The baby was rushed for an immediate surgery and the doctors performed Pyeloplasty – a surgical reconstruction of the renal pelvis, a part of the kidney, to drain out urine and decompress the kidney.
The baby was kept at the ICU, and it was back to normal after a while.
“Kidney anomalies detected during antenatal scan do not necessarily imply that the parents should opt for abortion. A few conditions have an excellent outcome if managed in a specialised centre.
This was one such case where the parents were reassured that the outcome could be normal with regular follow-up and timely intervention," said Dr Mukunda Ramachandra, a paediatric urologist.
