Causes and Treatments of Parapelvic Cysts

The kidney is the vital excretory organ to human beings. And its basic structure includes renal parenchyma and renal pelvis. Renal pelvis is a conical cyst and its lower part is connected with the ureter. It is the part in the kidneys to collect all renal tubules and urine.

As its name indicates, renal parapelvic cysts are fluid-filled sacs located in the renal pelvis and the cyst is very easy to obstruct the urinary tract and cause hydronephrosis which should be distinguished with parapelvic cysts.

What are the causes of parapelvic cysts?

Parapelvic cyst is not very common in clinic and most parapelvic cysts are caused by congenital factors and it is considered to be more related with the elderly. Most patients have it after 50s and its histological source comes from renal parenchyma or old urine-containing cysts.

What are the treatments for parapelvic cysts?

1. No treatment at all. Since most parapelvic cysts are benign and will not cause symptoms when it is small in size, therefore patients can receive no treatment at all except regular follow-up checks and adjustments of diets and lifestyles.

2. Symptomatic treatment. It aims at alleviating the discomforts and controlling symptoms and complications. Such as antibiotics for viruses and infections, anti-hypertension medicines for high blood pressure, pain killers for the pains.

3. Surgical removal of parapelvic cysts. When the diameter of the cyst is larger than 5cm or the oppression causes symptoms and complications such as back pain, blood in urine, high blood pressure and infections, doctors may suggest the patients to adopt the surgeries such as aspiration and laparoscopic decortication to drain or remove the cysts.

4. Herbal therapy. Herbal therapy is to use herbal medicines to shrink the cysts. On one hand, herbs can soften the cyst wall so as to increase the permeability of the cyst wall and promote the re-absorption of the cystic fluids; on the other hand, herbs can inactivate the epithelial cells so as to inhibit the further cystic fluid secretion. Herbal medicines can help shrink the parapelvic cyst or at least slow down its growth rate. And the effects will be far better if herbal medicines can be combined with western medicines because herbal medicines usually take longer time to take effects.