Karim, a 11-year old boy from Indira Nagar in Kalaburagi city, would have lost one of his kidneys had he not been operated on time. The 2-hour long surgical procedure recently done at Patil Nursing Home (PNB), a urology hospital in the city, not only prevented complete damage to his right kidney but also restored its functionality.

After visiting many hospitals complaining of unbearable abdominal pain, Karim finally landed in PNB a week ago. Medical investigation revealed that boy had developed an abnormal urinary system. The right ureter, the duct that drains urine from right kidney to bladder, which was supposed to be positioned vertically parallel to inferior vena cava (IVC) that transports impure blood to heart for purification, was entangled with IVC.

“As a result, the pelvic ureteric junction, which was smaller in size relative to IVC, got compressed by the pressure of IVC, which was relatively larger, leading to a blockade in the former and accumulation of urine in the right kidney. This naturally led to swelling of the kidney causing unbearable pain,” said Ravindra Patil, who led a team of doctors including Smeetha Patil, Anup S. Desai and R.K. Patil (all urologists) and anaesthetist Joshi that successfully operated and corrected the urinary mechanism.

During about 2-hour complex surgery, the doctors first cut the ureter and pulled it from the IVC and positioned it vertically straight and away from IVC. Both the cut-ends of the ureter tube were then stitched to again make it a urine draining duct connecting the kidney and bladder. Finally, a stent was inserted into the ureter for avoiding possible compression at the stitched area of the urinary tract.

“The patient was referred to our hospital at an advanced stage and the damage had already inflicted on the kidney. The surgery has not only prevented the complete damage of the kidney but also restored its functionality,” Dr. Desai said.

Since the patient was a child from Below Poverty Line section, he was operated free of cost under Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram, a Union government programme meant for children. “The government will pay Rs. 40,000 for the surgery which costs over Rs. 1.5 lakh in corporate hospitals,” said Dr. Smeetha Patil.

The patient, Karim, told The Hindu “The pain was unbearable. Now I am feeling well.” When this reporter visited the hospital on Monday, the stent inserted into Karim’s urinary tract was removed.