Hyderabad: Fever and loose motion made them suspect a viral infection. But when Mohd Hussain’s family took the four-month-old to Niloufer Hospiral, an ultrasound showed six kidney stones in his body.
Each stone was about eight millimetres in diameter and stuck in the baby’s urinary tract. The baby found it difficult to pee, but his family, residents of Nampally, were unaware.
Initial investigation found that his nappies were changed only twice in 24 hours.
The baby was referred to Dr V Chandra Mohan’s Institute of Urology, a specialised centre that had the expertise to deal with a small baby.
“The kidney stones were due to an inborn metabolic disorder in which the body produced more uric acid than usual,” Dr Mohan said.
“It is a genetic disorder. The child was on mother’s milk, but without water, stone formed. He will have to be on medication and follow lifestyle changes to ensure that his body’s uric acid does not increase.”
For that, the mother has to reduce non-vegetarian food while she is nursing the baby. He has to drink a lot of water to stop stones from forming again.
The baby’s weight was 4.5 kg so the doctors carried out endoscopic surgery to avoid cuts and blood loss. He is the first baby in the world to undergo Retrograde Intra Renal Surgery (RIRS) for removal of the stones.
A ureter is passed through the penis and through it a laser fibre breaks the stones into small fragments, which are then removed.
It took an hour for the procedure on both kidneys, and all stones were removed. The family had to cough up Rs 60,000.
