Medical Questions » Kidneys and Bladder Questions » Question No. 551
| Question: | We are very worried about our grandchildren who have kidney tract problems. The little girl has already had a crossover operation, and now the little boy is having troubles. Our daughter in law has had a lot of urinary infections in the past, and her mother had a dual kidney. Is this problem hereditary, or is it due to the infections of the mother? Should they have more children? |
| Answer: | Urologists are the surgical specialists who operate on kidneys and the bladder, and they can now work wonders with children who are born with serious abnormalities of the urinary tract.
Your granddaughter presumably had a blockage in the tube leading from one kidney. This tube has now been crossed over to the opposite kidney, and both kidneys now use a common tube to drain the urine to the bladder. Although this is a quite delicate operation, there should be no further problems, and she should be able to lead a normal life.
I am quite sure that the problems your grandchildren are suffering are not connected to their mother' s urinary infections. On the other hand, it is possible that the kidney problems are inherited. The actual chances of inheriting further problems is extremely difficult to work out, but a geneticist at one of the latge children' s hospitals may be able to give you some statistics on the chances ol a problem arising in future children.
As the abnormalities can usually be corrected, I can see no reason why your son and daughter in law should not have more children. Hopefully, further children may miss out on the slightly abnormal gene combination that has led to the kidney problems in the other children.
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