Yes! I have three kidneys now! This is probably what surprises people most often when I talk about my transplant, even more so than the fact that I found my donor on facebook! 😛
I am often asked why my two problematic kidneys were not removed during the kidney transplant I had in early December. As you know, I have Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), which means that both of my kidneys are filled with cysts and my kidneys are several times the size of normal kidneys (a polycystic kidney can grow as big as an American football). In addition, there is a risk that the disease will continue to progress and that my kidneys will continue to grow, making them more difficult to remove later.
So why not remove them, while I was open on the operating table? Let’s look together at what I understood are the main reasons.
1- The risks are greater to remove them than to leave them in
We only want to do surgeries when absolutely necessary. Polycystic kidneys are only removed if there is a greater risk of leaving them than having a nephrectomy (removal of the kidney). It is not trivial to remove these mastodon kidneys!
In which cases is this risk greater? Some people living with PKD have cysts that often burst, which can lead to severe pain and hemorrhage. Other people develop kidney stones. Others have frequent infections in cysts. Sometimes, these problems are common enough to require a nephrectomy (or double nephrectomy).
In my case, I was hospitalized only once at 19 years old for 2 months due to infected cysts, but never since. I had a lot of pain as a teenager, but nothing very significant since my early twenties. And other than the end-stage kidney failure they caused me, my original kidneys don’t really cause me any problems.
2- My kidneys are relatively small
Another reason to remove someone’s polycystic kidneys may be because they are so large that they cause problems. This can be either to make room before a transplant so that the graft can be inserted, or if the kidneys compress other organs and prevent their normal function. For example, the huge kidneys can compress the lungs and block breathing, which can no longer be done completely.
In my case, since my kidneys are only 2-3 times bigger than normal kidneys, there was enough space for my graft. In addition, they do not compress any organs. So no problem for the moment on that side either!
3- It is possible that my original kidneys atrophy after the transplant
As much as my polycystic kidneys can continue to grow and eventually cause me problems, it is possible that they will atrophy after the transplant since my graft does the work they no longer need to do. There is therefore a good probability that the removal of polycystic kidneys will be useless since they may become small like grapes!
So we come back to number 1 – if the risk of removing the kidneys is greater than that of leaving them, we do not touch them. And if they shrink, there is no risk in leaving them there!
That’s why I now have 3 kidneys! Even more fascinating, in case of rejection and of a second kidney transplant, they leave the first graft in place rather than removing it! People with double kidney transplants therefore have 4 kidneys in their abdominal cavity! :O
See you soon,
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