Brazilian baby girl Isis Eloah Ferreira Alves was born with four kidneys due to an unusual birth defect that is difficult to find in medical literature.
Doctors knew Isis had kidney problems while she was still a fetus, but they weren't sure what the problem was. Her mother, Thalia Silva Alves, 21, had a normal pregnancy with no problems.
Isis was born by caesarean section at the Regional Hospital de Sobradinho, premature and incubated. When she was five months old and had to undergo surgery, doctors at the Hospital da Criança de Brasília José Alencar discovered she had four kidneys.
This is a rare condition, with fewer than 100 cases reported worldwide . Supernumerary kidney is an abnormal division of the renal cord on the embryonic wall during pregnancy. The supernumerary kidney may or may not fuse with the other kidneys.
Doctors removed Isis's right kidney because of a blockage that caused urine to build up. This caused the kidney to grow in size, pressing on her stomach and intestines, making it difficult to eat.
X-ray image of the kidneys in the girl's body. Photo: Jam Press
The removed kidney could not be donated for transplant because the abnormal blood vessels made it difficult to transplant. The kidney was sent for laboratory analysis. Isis's other three kidneys are functioning normally.
According to pediatric urologist Hélio Buson, who led Isis’s surgery, it is not yet certain whether the remaining kidneys will have problems in the future. The girl will need to be monitored for many years, possibly even into adulthood.
Isis, now 13 months old, is frequently hospitalized because every time she catches the flu, she gets pneumonia. Her lungs are weak due to premature birth and the need for long-term sedation. Despite these challenges, Isis’s mother says she is leading a normal life.
Thuc Linh (According to NY Post, Mirror )
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