The "Face" of Polycystic Kidney Disease

Hello from downtown Chicago! I'm currently sitting in our hotel room, across from me are over-sized windows that show me the hustle and bustle of downtown life as well as skyscrapers that make you bend your neck back just to realize you can't see the very top of them. We are just blocks from Northwestern Memorial Hospital and every so often you can hear sirens from emergency vehicles and car horns  of impatient cabbies. Michael is laying next to me, he is quietly sleeping as he recovers from his nephrectomy. On Tuesday morning Michael had both his native kidneys removed. His kidneys had grown to the size of footballs and were causing him discomfort and pain, as well as extending his stomach out to a point that he constantly felt bloated.....the time to have them removed had arrived.  Even though Michael had a kidney transplant 2 years ago on December 1st, his PKD kidneys were still growing and causing him issues. PKD doesn't really go away with a transplant or even with a nephrectomy, PKD is a disease that can also cause cysts to grow in the liver, pancreas and intestines.  Patients have a higher risk of aortic aneurysms and heart-valve defects. Michael will have to have regular testing for the rest of his life.

Michael contacted Dr. Leventhal in August,  and after discussing symptoms and his options Dr. Leventhal referred Michael to Dr. Juan Carlos Caicedo. Michael flew to Chicago in November for his 2 year post transplant appointment with Dr. Leventhal and to have a consultation with Dr. Caicedo.  During that appointment he was able to proceed with all his pre-op diagnostic testing and confirm a Laparoscopic Bi-lateral Native Nephrectomy surgery date of December 10th, 7:30am. 

What is a Laparoscopic Bi-lateral Native Nephrectomy? Nephrectomy is the surgical removal of a kidney. Bi-Lateral of course means both kidneys. The surgery is performed with the patient under general anesthesia. The laparoscopic approach, which involves the use of a laparoscope (wand-like camera), utilizes three or four small (5-10 mm) cuts or ports in the abdominal area. The kidney is completely detached inside the body and then placed in a bag. One of the incisions is then expanded to remove the kidney.  Patient will require a bladder catheter that is placed once they are asleep and is removed several hours after surgery.

Laparoscopy achieves the same things as traditional surgical techniques and can be used for both radical and partial surgery. 

The advantages of laparoscopic surgery include:

• Shorter recovery time
• Shorter hospital stay
• Smaller incisions
• Fewer post-operative complications

Laparoscopic nephrectomy takes special skills to perform and is not available at all hospitals. The Northwestern Memorial transplant team has vast experience in performing bilateral or unilateral laparoscopic nephrectomy for polycystic kidney disease. Northwestern transplant surgeons routinely perform laparoscopic bilateral nephrectomy for patients with PKD resulting in low morbidity.  

LinkedIn - Juan Carlos Caicedo, MD

We were blessed to have Dr. Caicedo do Michael's nephrectomy.  He was a wonderful surgeon who explained everything to us in detail, making sure all our questions were answered. We felt comfortable in his knowledgeable hands.  Dr.  Caicedo is not only a transplant surgeon but also the director of the Hispanic Transplant Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He is also an assistant professor of Surgery in the Division of Organ Transplantation at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He graduated from the National University of Colombia in Bogota, Colombia. Dr. Caicedo completed a three year clinical fellowship in transplant surgery including pediatric and adult kidney, pancreas, liver and small bowel transplantation, as well as hepatobiliary surgery. He has also studied laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and vascular access for adults.

This is an example of port placements. (NOT Michael)

Now that I have shared this chapter in our journey....how about some pictures?!  I have a love of reading, but who doesn't love picture books, right? :)

 At Tampa International Airport 12/09/13

Chicago!

Outside our hotel ~ Ontario Street

12/10/13 ~ Surgery day! Walking to Northwestern Memorial.

Dr. Patel ~ Anesthesiologist

 Part of the team that attended to Michael the morning of the surgery.

Dr. Caicedo explaining the procedure before surgery.

 Smile!  Its show time!

2nd time in this waiting room....1st time was for Michael's transplant. 

Michael's kidneys.  

To remove them, they had to take some of the volume off first...they were actually a bit larger than what is pictured here.

These are the smaller cysts. 

Post-op ~ Michael's nurse was named Noelle...how appropriate for this time of year! 

Michael's 3 port sites and the "?" incinsion where his kidneys were removed from.

Night before surgery | Morning after surgery

Night before surgery | Morning after surgery

Yeah...pretty amazing, right?

We are in Chicago until Monday the 16th, this is when Michael will have his post-op appointment with Dr. Caicedo and then we fly on home. How is Michael doing? Really well, I'd have to say his toughest day was the day after surgery when he had severe gas pains from the O2 they fill ones belly up with when doing laprascopic surgery. He is currently taking Tylenol every 4 hours for minimal pain and no other medications. We couldn't have asked for a better outcome.  

During this PKD journey we have met some amazing people as well as had the blessing to have been treated by some of the best doctors in the country and cared for by some dedicated nurses. I'm certain that we are not alone in this PKD journey, and neither are you.

God's blessings,

Lilly :)