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Nephroptosis, or a floating kidney, is when the kidney falls down due to lack of support from surrounding tissues. It can cause symptoms such as flank pain and difficulty urinating, and is most common in young, thin women. Treatment involves surgery to fix the kidney in place.
A floating kidney, which may also be called a hypermobile or wandering kidney, is known medically as nephroptosis. It is a condition that causes the kidney to fall down, especially when a person gets up or goes from a lying position to a standing position. This may also be called prolapse or kidney prolapse. The downward motion of the kidney suggests that it is not fully fixed in place by the surrounding tissues, and it is a condition that has been noted by doctors for more than a century.
People most commonly affected by this disorder are young women, usually thin women with long waists. Rarely, the condition can be caused by a birth defect. Injury to the kidney or a blow to the area just above or below the kidney can also cause a floating kidney. Most commonly the mobility of the kidney occurs without any damage.
The kidneys are usually supported by tissue called the perirenal fascia, which is soft tissue that is part of the connective tissue. When the perinephric fascia is not present in abundance, the floating kidney is not fixed in position and can descend to the pelvis when standing. This may or may not cause symptoms. When symptoms do emerge, they can be downright annoying and include flank pain, chills, nausea, and elevated blood pressure. The displacement of the kidney can also cause the ureter, the structure that carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder, to bend. This can cause extreme pain or difficulty urinating.
Diagnosis tends to be made by taking a series of x-rays in the supine (lying position) and then standing or standing position. These can tell quite accurately whether the kidney is truly moving downward when a person stands up or if some other condition might be causing the symptoms. Most people are unaware that they have the disorder and usually only the emergence of symptoms prompts evaluation for the condition. If the condition is asymptomatic and diagnosed, it usually doesn’t require any treatment.
For those experiencing symptoms of fluctuating kidney, treatment usually exists in the form of kidney surgery called nephrophexy. In the past, this surgery was considerably more invasive, but it can now be performed via laparoscopic techniques, with much faster recovery times. The surgery essentially fixes the kidney in place, reducing its mobility and ending the painful symptoms.
Most people with a floating kidney have few or no complications, and even when surgery is needed, the surgery itself has an excellent outcome. This is not considered a fatal condition, as treatment is readily available. It can be very uncomfortable, but many who have the condition may not feel any discomfort. In many cases, people live their entire lives with nephroptosis without being aware that they have it.
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