A physician yesterday cautioned males on the dangers prostate gland enlargement commonly seen among elderly patients after seeing the case in a patient he treated.
A patient with a swollen kidney was found to have a fishhook-shaped ureter caused by prostatic hypertrophy, the physician said yesterday.
According to Hung Chun-tseh (洪峻澤), the chief physician in Shutian Clinic’s urology department, the 68-year-old male patient sought medical attention for blood in his urine and it was found that both his kidneys were swollen with a urine buildup.
With the help of an intravenous pyelogram, an X-ray examination technique used to visualize abnormalities in the urinary tract system, the patient was diagnosed with fishhook ureter (also known as “hockey-stick” or “J-shaped” ureter) caused by prostatic hyperplasia, Hung said.
Hung said that the fishhook configuration of the ureter usually occurs when the patient has severe prostatic enlargement or enlargement of the middle lobe, which can obstruct the ureter’s entry into the bladder and cause the ureter to resemble a fishhook in shape.
The obstruction can cause swollen kidneys due to the failure of normal drainage of urine to the bladder.
Hung added that symptoms of prostatic hyperplasia include a weak urine stream, stopping and starting while urinating, the frequent or urgent need to urinate, dribbling at the end of urination and nocturia.
The enlargement can be treated with medication or surgery.
If left untreated, the condition can worsen and lead to complications such as hematuria, urinary tract infection, urinary retention, hydronephrosis (swollen kidneys from the buildup of urine), fishhook ureter or even a precancerous lesion, Hung said.
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