I am a 27 year old female. I just received the results from a cat scan that my urologist had me go for. Basically my right kidney is dead. The kidney and ureter are massively dilated, approximately twice the size of the left. My doc said that there are several ways to proceed; more tests, leave it be because I have no pain, or surgery to remove. My next appointment is not for 6 months. I am really confused about the whole situation. Is it healthy for me to have this dead kidney inside???? He also inquired about whether or not I wanted to have more children. If I had the kidney removed would I be unable to have more children???

I am a 27 year old female. I just received the results from a cat scan that my urologist had me go for. Basically my right kidney is dead. The kidney and ureter are massively dilated, approximately twice the size of the left. My doc said that there are several ways to proceed; more tests, leave it be because I have no pain, or surgery to remove. My next appointment is not for 6 months. I am really confused about the whole situation. Is it healthy for me to have this dead kidney inside???? He also inquired about whether or not I wanted to have more children. If I had the kidney removed would I be unable to have more children???
This is kinda weird...I don't understand how the urologist knows the kidney is "not working". The only way to know if a kidney is not working is if you do a direct measurement of the one kidney and see that it is not producing any urine. The fact that the kidney and the ureter are dilated only means that there is an obstruction somewhere, and all the urine that's being produced is backing up. Maybe your urologist just didn't give you the most detailed explanation, but it's very difficult to say that one of your kidneys just "isn't working". Though I'm not a huge fan of second opinions, I say that you seek one from another urologist, 'cause what you're describing is hydronephrosis and that's indicative of some type of obstruction--not the fact that your kidney is dead!!

As for becoming pregnant..yes, there is a link between conception and kidney function. When kidney function declines, you can imagine that waste products aren't being eliminated like they normally are, and they build up in the blood. This can prevent conception and thus prevent pregnancy. Creatinine is a measure of kidney function and usually if it's 300 or higher, women have a difficult time getting pregnant.

I, too, question how the urologist knows the kidney is "dead". In fact, it's not uncommon for the smaller kidney to be the one that's having a problem, and the other kidney enlarges to take over the total function. My left kidney is very small, and my right kidney is enlarged. Turns out the left kidney is non-functioning, but I have 98% complete function out of the right kidney.

Butterflytrans is absolutely right that you would need further testing to determine exactly what each kidney is doing.

However, as far as living with one kidney...if that kidney is functioning normally, then it's no problem. As I said, the functioning kidney will enlarge to compensate.