Kidney cancer or renal cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the kidneys when the healthy cells in it become malignant and multiply out of control.
When salts and other minerals in urine stick together, they can result in kidney stones. A patient can experience severe pain when these solid masses move through the urinary tract.
When kidneys fail, they lose their ability to filter waste from the blood. This results in the build-up of toxins inside the body. To find relief, failed kidneys can be replaced with healthy kidneys through a kidney transplant program.
Chronic Kidney disease is a condition in which the kidney gradually loses its functioning ability over a period of months or years. Diabetes and high blood pressure are the primary causes of chronic kidney disease. If your kidney function is significantly impaired, you will experience symptoms like loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, fatigue and weakness, swelling of feet and ankles, sleep problems, etc. When left untreated, it can progress to end-stage kidney failure, a condition where your kidneys can no longer support your body's needs.
The Critical Care unit at the Department of Nephrology focuses on diagnosing and treating patients with life-threatening injuries and illnesses related to kidneys. Our expert Nephrologists who have extensive experience in acute renal failure closely collaborate with the other doctors, subspecialists, nurses and specially-trained health care providers to provide intensive and comprehensive care and constant monitoring for patients experiencing renal disease associated with critical illness.
Dialysis is a procedure to filter and purify the blood in your body artificially when your kidneys fail and stop functioning. There are two types of dialysis: 1. Haemodialysis - the blood is diverted to a machine outside the body, cleaned, and then returned to the body. 2. Peritoneal dialysis - the blood is cleaned inside the body using a special fluid. Until your kidneys recover or unless you undergo a kidney transplant, dialysis will be needed to purity the blood.
Kidney damage from diabetes is called Diabetic kidney disorder. Though not everyone with diabetes develops this disorder, it is likely to occur in people who have diabetes for a longer time with high blood pressure, poor glucose (sugar) control and inherited tendency. In the early stages, this disorder does not produce any symptoms. However, as the kidney function decreases, the symptoms include nausea, loss of sleep, poor appetite, upset stomach, weakness, etc.
An electrolyte disorder occurs when the electrolytes in the body go out of balance i.e. either too high or too low. It can be caused by loss of fluids in the body due to prolonged exercise or physical activity, vomiting, diarrhoea, consumption of certain medications like diuretics, antibiotics, and chemotherapy drugs, and some underlying diseases like acute or chronic kidney disease, heart failure, diabetes, severe burns, etc.
Glomerulonephritis is inflammation of the tiny filters in the kidney called Glomeruli. It can be acute or chronic and if severe or prolonged inflammation occurs, the kidneys may stop working completely, resulting in kidney failure. The most common symptoms of Glomerulonephritis are pink or brown-coloured urine, foamy urine, swelling in the face, hands, feet and abdomen, high blood pressure, and feeling more tired than normal.
Hypertension is a medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries raises to unhealthy levels. Most often, this condition does not show any signs or symptoms until the blood pressure has reached a severe or life-threatening stage. When high blood pressure becomes severe, it may cause symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, headaches, nosebleeds, visual problems, and dizziness. If this condition is not treated, it can lead to severe health complications and also increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases like stroke, heart attack, and heart failure.
Kidney cancer occurs when the healthy cells in one or both kidneys become abnormal and grow out of control. Though the exact cause of this cancer is not clear, certain factors like smoking, older age, obesity, high blood pressure, using certain pain medications for a long time, having a family history of kidney cancer and exposure to certain chemicals are said to contribute. Kidney cancer may not show any signs in its early stages. In the later stages, it shows symptoms like blood in the urine, loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss, extreme fatigue, a lump in the abdomen and anaemia.
Kidney stones are solid masses made of crystals that form inside the kidney. Most often, the formation of kidney stones is associated with dehydration, diets with high levels of protein, salt or glucose, obesity, family history, digestive diseases, and surgeries like Gastric bypass surgery or any other intestinal surgery. Kidney stones of bigger sizes have the potential to block the flow of urine out of the kidney and make the kidney to swell, often causing severe pain.
Lupus nephritis is a term that describes the inflammation of the kidney caused by systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to produce autoantibodies to attack your own tissues and organs, including the kidneys. Family history and certain infections, toxic chemicals, viruses, and pollutants are some of the factors that play a role in causing this disease. If left untreated, it can lead to worsened kidney function and permanent kidney damage.
Nephrotic syndrome is a collection of symptoms which occurs when the filtering units of the kidney get damaged. This syndrome is characterized by the presence of a high amount of protein in the urine, high cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood, low albumin levels in the blood, and swelling in the legs, feet, ankles, or hands. Nephritis, diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus and Amyloidosis are some of the diseases and conditions that cause damage to the filtering units of the kidney and lead to Nephrotic syndrome.
Polycystic kidney disorder is an inherited kidney disorder in which cysts that are filled with fluids form in the kidneys. This disease causes the kidneys to enlarge, impair their functions over time and eventually cause kidney failure. The most common symptoms associated with this disease are high blood pressure, back or side pain, headache, blood in the urine, frequent urination, kidney stones, fatigue, joint pain, and nail abnormalities.
Renal artery stenosis is the narrowing of one or more arteries that supply blood to one or both of the kidneys. The narrowing of the arteries is primarily caused by a build-up of fatty substances and cholesterol inside it. Signs and symptoms associated with this disease are hypertension, decreased kidney function, fluid retention, swelling of the ankles and feet, decreased or abnormal kidney function and an increase of proteins in the urine.
The subspecialty of Paediatric Nephrology at Fortis provides comprehensive care for preventing, diagnosing, treating, and managing the entire spectrum of diseases that affect the kidney and urinary tract in children and adolescents. With extensive knowledge of renal physiology and remarkable proficiency in the management of renal conditions in children, our Paediatric Nephrologists offer the best medical care for young patients in a facility that is patient-centric and modern.
They also manage other conditions of the kidney like Hypertension, Urine Tract Infection, Diabetic Kidney Disease, Acute kidney failure/injury, Analgesic Nephropathy, Glomerulonephritis, Goodpasture Syndrome, Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, Nephrotic Syndrome, Renal Vascular Disease, Congenital nephrotic syndrome, Nephropathic and juvenile cystinosis, Nail-patella syndrome, Alport syndrome, Berger disease, Vasculitis, IgA, Electrolyte Imbalance, Hypernatremia- Low Sodium, High/Low- Potassium, Low Magnesium and Bone Mineral Disease.
