Kidney Stones Support Group

Recently about two months ago, my father found out he had two kidney stones, one in the kidney, the other in the ureter. Both were on his left side. He had had two laser surgeries to remove the stone. The doctor was able to remove the stone in the ureter on the first surgery. The second time, he couldn't find it. Then he dropped the bomb. My dad's left kidney pretty much stopped functioning for the most part. Also, there's a kink in the ureter that made it hard for him to move all the way up to the kidney. His advice is to remove the left kidney. He also found stones still lodged in the bottom part of the kidney.

What I wanted to know is, should my dad opt for the removal? His doctor said my dad should since the kidney's pretty much not doing anything. It doesn't drain urine very well (he had put the stents in after each surgery). Also, the lining of the kidney is also very thin. He also fears that leaving the stones in the kidney will cause further infection to my dad's kidney.

Granted, I know a person can function normally with one kidney. Still, because the kidney's not 100% damaged, and there is still a small percentage that my dad's kidney still works, albeit very minutely, should my dad opt out of the surgery and hope that some how the kidney might be able to repair itself?

When my dad found out he had the stone in the ureter, he said he never had any pain. It was only by accident that the doctor discovered it. His urologist said that the reason my dad didn't feel the pain was probably due to his left kidney's inability to function. He also ran the dye and scanned my dad's body to make sure that the left kidney wasn't functioning properly.

Anyway, my concern is for my dad's health. After each surgery, he's pretty weak, so I don't want my dad to undergo this major surgery.
Posted on 09/05/08, 01:09 pm