Fracture comes as ‘boon’ for man, reveals kidney failure

Nagpur: A fracture following a fall in the house proved a ‘boon’ for a 61-year-old man as pre-surgery tests revealed that the patient is in advanced stage of kidney failure. What followed later saved his life.
The man from the city was brought to Alexis Hospital after suffering a fracture. Orthopaedic surgeons concluded that his fracture needs surgery to fix. The pre-surgery tests revealed the patient has chronic interstitial nephritis (CIN) due to which his bones had become fragile and a small fall resulted in a major fracture.
The patient had no other symptoms of kidney failure. Doctors said CIN often goes unnoticed because of absence of any symptoms.
“The patient was lucky that he got diagnosed after the fracture. Otherwise, many patients of CIN reach hospital in a critical stage,” said Dr Nishant Deshpande, a nephrologist who handled this case successfully despite many problems.
“Due to advanced kidney failure, it was not possible for the patient to undergo orthopaedic surgery. As both kidneys of the patient had failed, the only option was permanent dialysis or transplant from a donor,” said Dr Deshpande.
Living in a nuclear family, it was not possible for the man to get donor from among close relatives. His wife was ready to donate her kidney, but blood group and HLA were not matching. Left with no option, doctors decided to go for the renal transplant adjusting the antibodies. Earlier also, these types of transplants had happened in Nagpur.
“Nagpur has all advanced facilities and we are capable to conduct such complex operations. Both the donor and the patient are doing well now. They have been discharged and into regular follow-up,” Dr Deshpande added.
The doctors were keen to share this case because it has many messages for the society at large. The fact that kidney failure can be completely asymptomatic is unknown to many. “CIN can remain asymptomatic for a long time, and the early clinical signs suggestive of kidney damage are often neglected by patients. To avoid this, high-risk patients should include kidney function test in their routine health check-up,” said Dr Deshpande.
Secondly, it has become difficult in nuclear families to find a suitable donor. This condition is going to be more serious with many from the present generation having no siblings. In this particular case, the wife was the only caretaker of the patient and household. Though, she was ready to donate kidney, her bigger concern was to recover quickly and get fit enough to look after the patient. Finally, doctors ensured both.
Thirdly, the advances in medicine have made ABO-incompatible kidney transplants possible between some recipients and living donors. So, it is possible to donate kidney to your near and dear ones even if blood groups mismatch.
Major Takeaways
Asymptomatic | Kidney failure can be completely asymptomatic
Test yourself | High-risk patients should go for kidney function test regularly
Difficult to get donor | You don’t get donor easily in nuclear families
Mismatch can be dealt with | Incompatible kidney transplants are also possible between some recipients and living donors