July 24, 2006

Renal Ultrasound

Last week we took Evan to have a renal ultrasound and much to our surprise, he was completely calm through the entire appointment. It's not that they were doing anything painful, he's just been so freaked out at all doctor's appointments lately. So, the purpose of this appointment was to examine his kidneys to check for any tumors that would be consistent with a Tuberous Sclerosis diagnosis.

Up until today we have been told he most likely has Tuberous Sclerosis and unfortunately, today it was confirmed. After looking at the ultrasound results, they determined that he has a small tumor (an angiomyolipoma) on his left kidney. The good news is that only one kidney is involved and people are sometimes even born with only one kidney.

The tumor is about 6mm and they don't get worried until they are get to 5cm. Because the tumor has the potential to grow, Evan will have renal ultrasounds every 1-2 years to monitor it. Apparently this type of tumor doesn't tend to grow until or after puberty, so if it follows the rules we won't have to think much about it for a while.

Not the best news today, but it could have been worse and I'm thankful it wasn't.