Kidney cyst?
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cyst is a closed pocket or pouch of tissue that can form anywhere in the body. Cysts can be filled with air or fluid. Cysts that form on the kidneys usually contain fluid. One or more cysts may develop on small tubes in the kidneys. The simple kidney cyst is different from the cysts that develop when a person has polycystic kidney disease, which is a genetic disease. Although its cause is not fully understood, the simple cyst is not an inherited condition. Simple kidney cysts become more common as people age. Nearly 30 percent of people over the age of 70 have at least one simple kidney cyst.
Most often, simple cysts do not cause symptoms or harm the kidney. In some cases, however, pain can occur when cysts enlarge and press on other organs. Sometimes cysts become infected or suddenly start to bleed. Less often the cysts impair kidney function. People with simple cysts are often found to have high blood pressure, although the cause-and-effect relationship is not well understood.
Kidney cysts are found by taking pictures of the kidneys using computerized tomography (CT) scans and ultrasonography. When simple cysts are found but no complications are present, no treatment is needed.
If cysts cause symptoms, treatment may be needed. One procedure involves puncturing the cyst using a long needle inserted through the skin. The doctor uses ultrasonography to guide the needle to the cyst. The cyst is drained and then filled with a solution containing alcohol to make the tissue harder.
If the cyst is large, surgery may be needed. Most procedures can be performed using a laparoscope, which allows for a smaller incision and quicker recovery. The surgeon drains the cyst then removes or burns away its outer tissue. Most patients stay in the hospital 1 or 2 days.
Sometimes it's just a cyst. It's not uncommon. But they just want to rule out cancer, so they'll take a closer look.
http://www.kidney-diseases.com/...
From time to time, during a routine Lumbar Spine MRI, we find other things..aortic aneurysm, renal cysts, or in females, ovarian cysts and fibroids.
Many people with single simple renal cysts have to signs or symptoms. Cysts are fluid filled masses. Simple cysts are not cancerous, nor do they ever become cancerous. Your doctor is asking for a CT scan, simply because he kind of has to. Your MRI of your back was not the best imaging tool for evaluating the kidneys. The cyst was probably only seen on a couple of the images. There is a very high probability this area is just a cyst, but can you image the lawsuit your doctor would face later if he ignored this and it turned out to be something nasty? A CT scan of the abdomen will help the radiologist be certain that you have a benign, inconsequential simple cyst of the kidney.
"Simple renal cysts are the most common renal masses, accounting for roughly 65 to 70 percent of cases. They typically produce no symptoms and are discovered incidentally by radiological examination. In one study of over 1000 patients, for example, there was no increase in the incidence of hypertension, flank pain, hematuria, or proteinuria when compared to matched controls without cysts."
http://www.medhelp.org/forums/urology/me...
"CT - The density of cyst fluid can be measured by this modality; it should be near than of water. A value greater than 15 Hounsfield units (HU) should raise suspicions for a complicated cyst or even a solid mass. A cyst should not enhance following contrast injection, although small increases of 2-5 HU may normally be seen with contrast. When evaluating wall thickness on CT, it is best to examine a portion of the cyst that extends beyond the renal contour and does not lie adjacent to the "beak." ..MRI - A cyst will be low signal intensity on T1, and very high signal intensity on T2 weighted images. As on CT, it will appear as a homogenous rounded mass with a thin wall and sharp interface with the surrounding normal renal parenchyma."
http://rad.usuhs.edu/medpix/medpix.html?...
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