Duplex Kidney Having a duplex kidney sounded very rare to me when I first read about it in my patient’s chart, but after doing some research, it is the most common congenital renal tract abnormalities. A duplex kidney is one kidney that has two separate collecting systems. This takes place as a fetus during development and two separate ureteric buds arise from a single duct resulting in the duplication of the renal pelvis draining via a single ureter or two separate collecting systems that drain independently into the bladder or ectopically (Duplex Collecting System). This condition occurs more often in women than in men and is most frequently diagnosed during childhood (Davda and Vohra, 2013).
Signs and Symptoms Many times, patients with a duplex kidney are asymptomatic. But in those who do experience symptoms, they include infection, reflux or obstruction, flank pain, incontinence, hematuria, and hydronephrosis. Urinary tract infections are very recurrent in patients with this disease (Davda and Vohra, 2013).
Treatment
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There is no medication that can just cure it. This disorder is often found on accident and is miss diagnosed as a cyst in most cases. But the use of ultrasound, nuclear medicine, excretory urogram, and a CT scan help in making the correct prognosis in a patient (Duplex Collecting System). Most of the time, nothing is done about this disorder and patients can continue living with it. In other cases, ureterectomies or heminephrectomies are performed either open or laparoscopically. Patients who go this route may experience a decline in renal function or other symptoms that may cause them to have even more operations (Davda and Vohra,