Bilateral hydronephrosis

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Female urinary tract

Male urinary tract

Hydronephrosis - bilateral

Placing a Foley catheter may relieve the obstruction. Other treatment options include draining the bladder or relieving pressure with nephrostomy tubes placed through the skin (percutaneous) or stents placed in the ureters to allow urine to flow from the kidney to the bladder.

Once the blockage is treated, the underlying cause (such as an enlarged prostate) must be identified and treated.

Advances in fetal ultrasound have given specialists the ability to diagnose problems caused by bilateral obstruction of the urinary tract in the developing fetus. If an obstruction is detected in a fetus, intrauterine surgery (performed while the fetus is still inside the mother's uterus), or shortly after birth, will improve kidney function.

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Newborns diagnosed with obstruction while still in the uterus can receive prompt surgical correction of the defects, often with good results.

Renal insufficiency or failure may develop as a complication of many of the disorders associated with hydronephrosis.

This disorder is usually discovered by the health care provider.

Review Date: 03/17/2011
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of Medicine; Louis S. Liou, MD, PhD, Chief of Urology, Cambridge Health Alliance, Visiting Assistant Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).