Should Benign Kidney Cyst of 7mm Need Treatment

Kidney cyst is a common renal disorder which means fluid-filled cystic cavities form in the kidneys. There are different criteria for classifying these cysts. It can be subdivided into renal cortical cyst, parapelvic cyst and medullary sponge kidney according to the location of the cysts.

Most renal cysts in kidneys are benign, therefore the prognosis is good especially when it is small in size such as 7mm.

Renal cyst of 7mm is quite small and it is still in the early stage. Such small cyst usually cause no symptoms or discomforts and it is often found by accidents in B ultrasound or other imaging tests done for other illness conditions.

Though it will continue to enlarge, its growth rate is quite slow and it has litter damage to affect kidney structure and kidney functions. That is why clinicians usually offer no treatment at all.

This is the usual attitude of Western medicine toward 7mm renal cysts because convention therapy for renal cystic diseases---surgeries can only be applied to large cysts. While from the perspective of Chinese medicine, there are still a lot can be done to treat small cysts.

Chinese medicines aim at shrinking cysts and controlling its growth rate though it can not remove the cysts as western surgeries do. The formation and gradual enlargement of cysts in kidney is due to continuous secretion of cystic fluid which is caused by phenotypic transformation of epithelial cells. Active ingredients in Chinese medicines can inactivate the cyst wall cells and inhibit the continuous secretion of cystic fluid so that the growth rate will be much slowed or even stopped. On the other hand, Chinese medicines can expand blood vessels and increase blood flow in the kidneys and at the same time softening the cyst wall and increasing its permeability so as to promote the re-absorption of cyst fluid into blood vessels and this can help shrink the cyst.

Of cause, the smaller the cyst is, the shorter time it needs to shrink and the better the curative effect will be. Actually it should be better period for receiving treatments than that when cyst has grown large enough to cause symptoms and affect kidney function.