Patient's question:
A few days ago, I happened to see a news report about a person who was found to have three kidneys after a thorough examination. I knew that normally people only have two, so is this called a duplicated kidney? I've also heard about polycystic kidney disease, is it the same thing?Doctor's answer:
Polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a hereditary kidney disease that typically occurs after middle age. In recent years, with the advancement of genomics and the popularization of gene decoding, the vast majority of patients with polycystic kidney disease can be diagnosed early. Due to the difficulty in treating polycystic kidney disease, it often exhibits a recurring pattern, which may cause patients to be particularly concerned. It can also involve recurrent kidneys and recurrent ureters. Recurrent ureters may be complete or incomplete, open rapidly in the bladder, or open to the urethra, vestibule, or vagina.