What Is Hydronephrosis of Right Kidney?

Hydronephrosis of the right kidney is swelling of the kidney located on the right side of the body due to the back-up urine caused by a disease. This makes the condition a symptom rather than a disease in its own right, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Prevalence

• Hydronephrosis affects one out of every 100 people at some point in their lives, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Hydronephrosis is four to five times more likely to occur in men than in women.

Causes

• Possible causes of hydronephrosis include blockage of the ureters or tubes that lead from your kidney to your bladder; or vesicoureteric reflux, a condition where urine from your bladder leaks into your right ureter and then into your kidney. Additionally, kidney stones sometimes cause hydronephrosis of the right kidney, and some pregnant women develop the condition, although doctors do not understand the reason why.

Symptoms

• Symptoms of hydronephrosis in your right kidney include pain in the right side of your body between your upper abdomen and your back, a lump in your abdomen, nausea, vomiting, urinary tract infections, fever, painful urination, and increasing urinary frequency or urgency.

Risks

• Untreated, hydronephrosis of the right kidney can cause that kidney to sustain permanent damage. This poses a risk for kidney failure, which may require dialysis.

Treatment

• In some cases, hydronephrosis clears up on its own. When necessary, treatments include a stent or tube to help drain urine from your right ureter, antibiotics to relieve infections, or surgery to remove the blockage causing the condition.

Considerations

• Hydronephrosis can also affect the left kidney due to problems with the left ureter, or the condition can develop in both kidneys due to problems that affect both ureters or kidney stones.