5 months: VUR

We went to RH early this morning to collect Andre's MCU scan and X-ray results. Andre has been diagnosed to have Grade II right vesicoureteric reflux. Left side is good. The results isn't that bad and Dr X is pretty confident that Andre's valve will repair by itself in the next 2 years. YAY! Thank God!

So what does this whole VUR thingy means and indicates?
In short, the "not so good" valve is not the issue. What we are afraid of is in the event of an infection, the faulty valve will allow the bacteria to enter the kidneys when backflow of urine occurs. This is really bad cos infections will scar the kidneys and in the long run, result in kidney disease and failure. Since the valve will probably repair itself in the next 2 years, meanwhile we need to minimise the risk of bacteria infection as much as possible.

One of the considerations is circumcison. Dr X claims that it will reduce 60% of UTI (urinary tract infection) cases. The little skin around the birdie is a good breeding ground for germs. Another more immediate action plan is for the patient to take a low dosage of antibiotics for the next 1-2 years. Of course, personal hygiene is of utmost importance. Always wipe front to back, otherwise germs from the poo poo might be brought forward to the uretha.

Meanwhile, we'll be scheduling the DMSA test in the coming weeks to make sure that Andre's kidneys were not harmed during the last infection. It's another invasive test where they are going to inject some dye on the back of his hand, wait for sometime for the dye to map the kidneys and take some screenshots. I supposed it's x-ray bah ... poor boy, so young need to go through radioactive waves.

Dr X does not seem that bad today. His explanations were clear and rationale reasonable. He'll probably close this case after the DMSA, and for the long term antibiotics, we'll be seeing Dr Ong for that.