Effective Kidney Cyst Treatment Options: Which Is Right for You?

What is a kidney cyst?

Simple kidney cysts are small round sacs filled with watery fluid, and many people do not know they have them.
In this article, we explain the fastest treatment methods for kidney cysts and the related issues. If you need more information about symptoms and diagnostic methods, please visit the kidney cyst page.

Fast treatment for kidney cysts

These sacs are usually not cancerous, but in some cases they may cause serious kidney dysfunction. A urologist diagnoses a kidney cyst with ultrasound or CT scan and treats it by drainage under ultrasound guidance or by removing the cyst wall laparoscopically. Laparoscopy, however, has a higher success rate in this setting. Mashhad is one of the leading cities for the work of highly skilled specialists and laparoscopic surgery fellowship-trained physicians.

Kidney cyst treatment methods

Kidney cysts are not cured with medication, and when treatment is necessary, the only treatment is surgical drainage using laparoscopy. However, in most cases, a kidney cyst resolves on its own without any specific treatment and does not require surgery.

If your kidney cyst has no specific symptoms or complications, there is no need to worry and you do not need to think about treatment, because in most cases these cysts go away on their own. However, you should definitely see a urologist to confirm that the cyst is simple.
Your doctor may also prescribe ultrasound examinations at specific intervals so that if the cyst becomes larger, the doctor is informed and can take treatment steps. These ultrasound examinations will continue until the cyst has completely disappeared. Even so, sometimes a simple cyst develops complications, and in that situation the doctor may recommend treatments such as the following:

1. Treating a kidney cyst with medication

Patients with kidney cysts sometimes experience severe pain in the abdomen, flank, or pelvis. During kidney cyst treatment, the doctor may use pain-relieving medications or blood pressure medications.

2. Puncturing the cyst with a needle

In this method, the doctor uses ultrasound guidance to pass a long needle through the kidney wall and into the patient’s kidney, then punctures the cyst. The fluid inside the cyst is drained. After the fluid is removed, the doctor fills the emptied space with alcohol to help prevent the cyst from recurring. In some cases, however, the cyst still comes back and recurs.

3. Kidney cyst surgery

When the cyst is large and symptomatic, or when it recurs and fills with fluid again, the surgeon removes the cyst wall completely or cauterizes it under anesthesia. This operation requires a short hospital stay.

In this surgery, the doctor makes several small incisions in the skin and introduces special instruments plus a small camera into the patient’s kidney. During surgery, the surgeon can see the exact location of the cyst on a monitor and remove it from the patient’s body. After the cyst is removed, the cyst walls are removed or cauterized.

Can a kidney cyst come back after treatment?

To answer this question, it should be noted that in some cases where needle drainage is performed, the kidney cyst may recur and fill with fluid again. In these cases, when the cyst has recurred, the doctor proceeds with surgery.

Ways to prevent kidney cyst disease

The most important and dangerous type of kidney cyst disease is polycystic kidney disease. Because in most cases this condition is transmitted genetically, there is no 100-percent way to prevent it, but lifestyle changes can help reduce its development to a considerable extent. Examples of lifestyle principles for prevention include:

• Take prescribed medications regularly and do not take medicines on your own

• Stop smoking and using tobacco products

• Control your weight

• Reduce salt and fat in your diet

• Keep alcohol consumption to a minimum

• Get enough physical activity during the day

• Control cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure

Frequently asked questions