Renal agenesis and unilateral nephrectomy: what are the risks of living with a single kidney?

The long-term outlook for patients with unilateral renal agenesis or following unilateral nephrectomy in childhood is controversial. Animal studies suggest that the resultant compensatory increase in glomerular filtration might lead to progressive damage to the remaining renal tissue and may generate hypertension. Human studies addressing these concerns are limited in number and are difficult to interpret because they are small, retrospective, or cross sectional with significant variations in duration and completeness of follow-up. The published studies suggest that renal function remains stable for several decades in the majority of subjects. The clinical significance of mild-grade proteinuria and hypertension seen in some patients is unknown. Longitudinal studies are needed to understand the long-term effect and significance of the several pathophysiological changes observed in the solitary kidney.