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Prenatal Hydronephrosis: Postnatal Evaluation and Management

  • Pediatric Urology (M Castellan and R Gosalbez, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Congenital hydronephrosis is one of the most common anomalies identified on antenatal ultrasound. The underlying etiology of congenital hydronephrosis is multifold, ranging from transient hydronephrosis in utero to clinically significant congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract. While traditional management of hydronephrosis was aimed at relieving symptoms, the advent of routine prenatal ultrasound has led to a shift in the goal of treatment to prevention of renal injury in the asymptomatic patient. However, despite this focus on renal preservation, the diagnostic criteria for identification of children “at risk” for renal damage that can be alleviated by surgical treatment remain a subject of debate. Both antenatal and postnatal imaging studies have been evaluated as indicators for potential reversible renal damage and have been used as potential indicators of the need for surgical intervention. The aim of this review is to discuss the current literature regarding the role of postnatal clinical and radiographic evaluation to identify children who may benefit from early surgical intervention.

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Conflict of Interest

Dr. Vijaya Vemulakonda, Dr. Jenny Yiee, and Dr. Duncan T. Wilcox declare that they have no conflicts of interest to report.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Urology, Children’s Hospital Colorado, 13123 East 16th Avenue, Campus Box B-463, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA

    Vijaya Vemulakonda & Duncan T. Wilcox

  2. Department of Urology, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Anaheim, CA, USA

    Jenny Yiee

Authors
  1. Vijaya Vemulakonda
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  2. Jenny Yiee
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  3. Duncan T. Wilcox
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Correspondence to Vijaya Vemulakonda.

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This article is part of theTopical Collection on Pediatric Urology

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Vemulakonda, V., Yiee, J. & Wilcox, D.T. Prenatal Hydronephrosis: Postnatal Evaluation and Management. Curr Urol Rep 15, 430 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11934-014-0430-5

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