Scared....has anyone heard of this?

carcdc · June 2010

Hi Ladies,

I am currently pregnant with my first child and have been enjoying a great pregnancy....until last week. Last week I went for my regular appointment to review my 20w ultrasound/anatomy ultrasound and found out that our little babe has what "appears to be a horseshoe shaped kidney" -- from what we can gather and from what our midwife can determine from the report is that the normal 2 kidneys did not separate into 2 separate organs and did not ascend into proper position. To say I freaked out was a complete understatement. My midwife could not offer much insight as she has never come across a kidney abnormality described in this way.....so she has referred us to a high level hospital that specializes in fetal imaging/prenatal diagnosis--we go Tuesday.

We did some research of our own and if it is indeed diagnosed as "horseshoe kidney" it is likely not too serious -- in fact 1 in as many as 400 people have this and many do not even know they have it as it was usually just an incidental finding at autopsy prior to routine prenatal ultrasound in the last 20 years. I'm just so terrified......all I have ever wanted to be is a mother, a mother to THIS child. I should add that "so far" no other abnormalities have been noted in any other organ systems, heart beat is great, and kidney(s) appear to be functioning as amniotic fluid levels/fetal processing are within normal. I also had a clear IP screening (which I think in the US is similar to NT scan).

If you have made it through my rambling post, thanks! If you have any insight or experience with this.....please advise this scared momma!

luvpinsanity · June 2010

Hi there,

I just wanted to offer you my support. I haven't had any personal experience with this, but at least from the information you found it doesn't seem to be too serious! I hope the specialist is able to give you more information regarding the "horseshoe kidney."

My thoughts and prayers go out to you and I am sure everything will be fine with you & LO! Please keep us updated and I hope everything goes great on tuesday!!

GOOD LUCK MOMMA.

harleyjo · June 2010

I'm sorry you are going through this. It's good to hear that the kidney/kidneys are working properly at this point! Good luck with your specialist appointment.

CelticWife · June 2010

I haven't heard of this, but I just wanted to offer my support. It is great that the kidney(s) seem to be functioning properly. I hope that the specialists can give you some more insight on LO's kidneys.

nosoup4u · June 2010

carcdc:
We did some research of our own and if it is indeed diagnosed as "horseshoe kidney" it is likely not too serious -- in fact 1 in as many as 400 people have this and many do not even know they have it as it was usually just an incidental finding at autopsy prior to routine prenatal ultrasound in the last 20 years.

I think this sums up my feelings. Ultrasounds are good for a lot of things, but they also tend to bring up things that scare the crap out of laypeople. They found a "bright spot" on my little one's heart at the 20 week u/s, and were required to tell us, but clinically, it means nothing, pretty much. It's definitely scary to think of the possibilities, but I would try not to worry until getting a more in-depth exam (and of course, it's easier said than done, right??).

This is a good article to read: https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/09/health/advances-and-angst-in-a-new-era-of-ultrasound.html

Hang in there! I'm sorry you guys are going through this!

carolyn02 · June 2010

While I can't be sure this is the same thing, it sounds identitical to what happened with my younger sister. I don't think I ever heard a technical name for it.. But my younger sister is perfectly fine. She did have numerous and frequent kidney infections while she was younger and had to a couple not-very-serious procedures done to assess how her kidneys were doing, but that all occurred when she was very young. She's 21 now and perfectly fine. No problems in years. So if my sister has what your baby has, or soemthing similar, then I think yall will be just fine. The first couple years may be a little trying, but I'm sure everything will work out just fine! Good luck!

emriley84 · June 2010

I work in a NICU, so we get all kinds of sick babies, premature babies, etc. I've heard f horseshoe kidneys, but the babies never have to come to us. So from what I know, it doesn't cause any problems in infancy. I don't know about as the baby gets bigger. Good luck, I know it's still scary, even if the baby will never be affected by it.

kitkat0308 · June 2010

They scared us too. My AFP came up positive and they told us DD might have spina bifida. I was so worried and scared. Turned out to be false. I hope the specialist can offer insight as well as comfort. And you never know, the baby may be perfectly fine. U/s aren't perfect.

hawaiibride04 · June 2010

I know it's scary, but from what I know about this condition it's nothing to worry about, and your baby will be perfectly healthy! You have to take some extra precautions (basically making sure you don't do anything that would be damaging to the kidney, watching illnesses like UTI's to make sure they don't spread to the kidney, etc.), but your child should have a normal, healthy life.

amullen13 · June 2010

My MIL found out she had a horseshoe kidney on an MRI for an unrelated issue when she was 60. She has not had any kidney issues throughout her life and was not told to expect anything different from now on.

I hope that all goes well with the specialist. Take care and try not to let the lack of information scare you. You should get more answers on Tuesday and that should help.

carcdc · June 2010

Thanks ladies, for the support, reassurance, and insight. I am trying (really hard) to be optimistic. As my husband has pointed out to me -- to our baby, this is it's "normal" and it has been growing and kicking along just fine (I am almost 23 weeks now).

Apparently this "happens" around 4 w gestation so I am *slightly* reassured that if the babe has made it this far, s/he will likely be OK. We are hoping that this is *all* it is, but we know that by seeing specialists in the field we will have a better idea what to expect and prepare for the future. Again, thanks to you all!

Branre2 · June 2010

I was previous an L&D nurse, now I work in an NICU. I've seen both sides to this. Sometimes you may have to have more frequent ultrasounds to make sure that your baby is making enough amniotic fluid and the kidney doesn't swell. If it swells, sometimes you may have low amniotic fluid. So make sure you keep yourself very hydrated, especially through the summer months. We've admitted some babies with this issue, but they were delivered prematurily for other reasons, not because of their kidney. The mom's went into premature labor and etc. So once the babies were born we closely monitored how much the babies took and how much came out. We weigh everything. Don't let it lay heavy on your mind. I'm sure you will take great care of your lil' one. Best of luck & congrats on being a 1st time om.

quarters1229 · June 2010

De-lurking for a moment to hopefully give you a bit of reassurance...

My own horseshoe kidney was not diagnosed (found) until I was 26 years old. I happened to be in the ER due to a kidney infection (not caused by the horseshoe kidney, mind you) when the doctors found my abnormality. They still treated my infection as if they were dealing with two kidneys and no additional/special treatment or follow-up was needed... Technically they still function as two kidneys, however they just use the one exit.

Chances are I would have never known about this if not for the kidney infection. FYI - your child may stand a better chance of having a UTI turn into a kidney infection if not treated quickly (within a week). I personally never had a UTI prior to that time and did not recognize the symptoms until it was too late for regular treatment... Hence the infection.

Worry not, aside from that small bump in the road I have had ZERO problems. Like you said (and what my doctor also said in the ER), most people never even know they have the abnormality and lead perfectly normal, healthy lives. I am sorry you have had to worry about this for the past week, but hopefully this will give you a bit more reassurance that all will be fine!

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