Health FAQ (Renal) Trauma: Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of lacerated kidneys

Playing in the National Football League is like surviving a series of car wrecks, with each play and hit potentially causing significant injury.The body breaks when players absorb a tackle or block and walk away.In the fourth quarter of the Indianapolis Colts' game against the Denver Broncos, Andrew Luck was hit in the back and suffered a laceration to his kidneys.He continued to complete the game, but that is a testament to his mind that can overcome a body's pain and injury for a short period of time.

A direct blow to the back can cause injuries.The area on the side and back of the abdomen are where the kidneys are located.The kidneys are connected to the rest of the body through the veins and arteries in the pedicle.It is well protected by lower ribs, muscles, and fat of the body, but blunt force can cause a laceration or a bursting like a dropped watermelon.A kidneys is divided into segments so that each segment has its own blood supply.Since an injury to one part or segment does not doom the whole kidneys, this is helpful.

If there isn't a high index of suspicion based on the mechanism of injury, the diagnosis of a kidney laceration can often be missed.If there are a few red blood cells in the urinalysis, it's easier to detect if the patient has gross blood in their urine.When the flank is palpated, there should be abdominal pain or flank pain.Without the story of injury, the diagnosis can be missed.Sometimes an aortogram is needed to look at the blood supply in the kidneys, but a computed tomographic (CT) Scan of the abdomen is the best way to see the structures.

Depending on how much damage it sustained, there are different stages of injury.It can be as mild as a bruise of the kidneys that causes minimal damage, or as severe as being torn from its pedicle.A lacerated kidneys describes a tear that may or may not cause urine to leak where it doesn't belong.