6 kidney stones found in 4-month-old baby

Hyderabad: Doctors from the Preeti Urology & Kidney Hospital, under the aegis of Dr V Chandra Mohan, performed a complex procedure to remove kidney stones from a 4-month-old (born on April 5, 2019) baby boy, the world's youngest patient to undergo such a procedure. Three stones of size 8 to 9 mm from each kidney were removed.

Though the kidney stone disease is common in India due to dehydration, malnutrition, usage of excessive salt and excessive intake of non-vegetarian, the ailment is not common among children. The disease is a rarity in new-born babies.

On the complaint of not passing urine for over 24 hours, a 4-month-old baby was brought to Niloufer Hospital, where the baby was diagnosed with kidney stones. Doctors at Niloufer referred the case to Preeti Urology & Kidney Hospital, a healthcare institution that specializes in kidney care and has the expertise in performing Retrograde Intra Renal Surgery (RIRS).

Commenting on the surgery, Dr V Chandra Mohan, managing director at Preeti Urology & Kidney Hospital, said that such type of surgery is very rare. Only a few centers from China and USA have done the surgery on small children. But, for the first time in the world, we performed such RIRS procedure on both the kidneys simultaneously of a 4-month male baby."

RIRS is an endoscopic surgery, which allows doctors to reach kidneys from the ureter. A flexible ureteroscope is used for these kinds of procedures. Through this device, a laser fiber (Holmium laser) is used to treat the stones, following which the small fragments are removed with a basket.

The surgery is done on the baby boy on both the kidneys in a span of just one hour, removing all six stones, three stones from each side. And in performing this procedure, no cut, no stiches were performed. The baby was discharged in a few days after the procedure.

Dr V Chandra Mohan was ably supported by Dr P Roopa, radiologist, Dr Ramakrishna, urologist, Dr Pavan, anesthetist and Dr Ajay, pediatrician, to perform the procedure successfully.

Baby's father Md Arshad Hussain said, "Dr Chandra Mohan has given utmost care towards my son. My son got operated and discharged. Now, he is free from stones. He is active and normal. I am very happy with the care given by all the doctors and nurses at Preeti Urology & Kidney Hospitals. My sincere thanks go to Dr Chandra Mohan and his team for saving my son's life."