This demonstrates Jonah’s stress level on the way to the hospital today. Sweet dreams, sweet boy!
Getting prepped for surgery. The last thing Jonah said before being wheeled into the OR was that he wanted a hamburger! Again, this boy knows how not to stress!
Up on the floor after surgery. We got one smile! Jonah is tired and a little groggy, but he his breathing good so that is most important!
Surgery was a success because a stent was placed and the suprapubic catheter was put in. Now we wait and see if infection clears out and kidneys go back to normal size over the next weeks.
Stent will probably be in place for 2-3 months. Catheter might be 1-2 weeks or longer if Jonah continues to be an “inefficient voider”.
How’s that for a label!?
Doctor isn’t actually sure how this kidney dialation happened. He thinks it’s a combination of things that have been happening over time.
One of those things is Jonah stopped emptying his bladder completely. He may have done this because of “stress” over expectation to stay dry and/or because of a UTI that was causing him discomfort.
One of the doctor’s theories is the more he held his urine, the bigger his bladder got, eventually pressing down on the opening from the bladder to Left ureter, causing the kidney to back up.
The right kidney also has some significant dialation, but the left is more severe probably because of its past history of being dialated for Jonah’s first 12 months before surgery. The doctor thinks the right kidney will come down on its own without the need for a stent.
When the doctor tried to place the stent today, he said there was a definite blockage in the bladder to Left ureter connection point that took a bit for him to be able to push thru. But now the stent will keep things wide open so kidney can drain properly now and shrink back down to proper size.
The catheter is in place to ensure Jonah completely voids or empties his bladder. Whatever he doesn’t void on his own will come out through the catheter to prevent this from happening again.
One big question is, however, how do we help Jonah void completely on his own so that this catheter isn’t necessary long term? The doctor hinted this might be hard if Jonah is holding as a behavior issue versus holding because there was pain from an infection.
The doctor seemed to indicate that piece of the puzzle is way down the road though. First we have to get his kidneys, especially the left one, healthy again. Then it will be checking kidney function to make sure they are working as they should. Then if all those things check out, we will have to address what is going on in Jonah’s mind- which is always a very interesting place to explore...🤔
One step at a time.
Right now, he is doing good post surgery which we are so relieved and thankful for! Hopefully we all get some sleep tonight, and then tomorrow we can come home and start managing this catheter care on our own.
FYI: Jonah’s RIGHT kidney is at stage 3 for hydronephrosis (dialation).
Jonah’s LEFT kidney is at stage 4 hydronephrosis.
So very important both kidneys come back to regular size. Hopefully stent/catheter gets us to that point!
Heading home!
Suprapubic catheter
A suprapubic catheter is a hollow flexible tube that is used to drain urine from the bladder. It is inserted into the bladder through a cut in the tummy, a few inches below the navel (tummy button).
An SPC usually stays inserted for four to eight weeks before it needs to be changed or removed. It may be removed sooner if your doctor believes that you're able to urinate on your own again.
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