Is hydronephrosis serious?

Hydronephrosis can be said to be a relatively serious disease because it affects people's kidney health. Some patients must undergo surgical treatment, which is also a way to minimize the harm as much as possible. Hydronephrosis is not an independent disease and may sometimes be a lesion caused by urinary tract obstruction.

1. Since the occurrence of hydronephrosis seriously affects people's kidney function, many patients will seek treatment as soon as possible to avoid greater harm. Some patients will ask whether hydronephrosis requires surgery? According to experts, surgical treatment is not necessarily necessary for this disease, as this method carries greater risks and can cause greater harm to people's bodies.

2. Expert introduction: Hydronephrosis is not an independent disease, but a pathological change of the kidney caused by urinary tract obstruction. The main function of the kidneys is to produce urine to excrete metabolic waste from the body through the urinary tract, regulate the body's acid-base balance, and secrete erythropoietin. From the renal collecting duct to the external urethral orifice, obstruction at any part will affect the excretion of urine and cause hydronephrosis.

3. Experts pointed out that in the past many people believed that as long as the contralateral kidney was healthy, the kidney with huge hydrops could be removed. Experts have proved through long-term clinical practice that in a considerable proportion (about 70%) of cases of giant hydronephrosis, renal function can be restored to a large extent by relieving obstruction or nephrostomy drainage. The function of the kidneys cannot be measured simply by the amount of hydronephrosis. In intrarenal hydronephrosis, the renal pelvis cannot expand outward on its own. Although the amount of hydronephrosis is not large, the renal parenchyma will be compressed and thinned earlier, and the renal function will be seriously damaged. In extrarenal hydronephrosis, the renal pelvis can expand outward, the amount of hydronephrosis may be greater, and the compression and thinning of the renal parenchyma may not be very serious.