URETEROCELE

A ureterocele is a birth imperfection that will affects the bladder, kidney and ureter. When a person is suffering from ureterocele, the segment of the ureter closest to the bladder will bulges up like a balloon due to the ureteral opening is very small and obstructs urine outflow. As the urine flow is blocked, urine comes backs up in the ureter. Roughly 1 in 500 to 1 in 4,000 persons are affecting by this condition. A ureterocele will occurs in the lower part of the ureter, in which the tube enters the bladder. The bulged area prevents urine from passing freely into the bladder. The urine will collects in the ureter and stretches the walls. It will expands like a water balloon. A ureterocele may also cause urine to flow backward from the bladder to the kidney. This is termed as reflux.

SYMPTOMS:

Symptoms include:

• Abdominal pain

• Back pain that may be only on one side

• Urinary incontinence

• Foul-smelling urine

• Severe side (flank) pain

• Blood in the urine

• Lump (mass) in the abdomen that can be felt

• Burning pain while urinating (dysuria)

• Fever

• Urinary tract infection

• Frequent and urgent urination

• Ureterocele tissue falls down (prolapse) through the female urethra and into the vagina

DIAGNOSIS:

Ultrasonography is the initial imaging test was used in evaluation. Additional imaging studies may also be required to help delineate the anatomy. A voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG), which is an X-ray examination to lower urinary tract and bladder. A catheter is introduced through the urethra, then the bladder was filled with a water-soluble contrast and after that the catheter is taken out. Many X-ray images of the bladder and urethra were captured as the patient empties the bladder. These images viewed by the radiologists to identify any abnormalities in the flow of urine from the body.

It is also main to evaluate the functioning of the kidneys, particularly to find out whether the affected part of the kidney has any function or not. In most of the cases, this evaluation is done with a renal scan.

Abdominal CT scans and MRI tests are further studies that can also be done to evaluate the disease in the patient’s with an ureterocele.