MamasHealth.com Home Kidney Diseases Glomerulonephritis Growth Failure Kidney Failure Kidney Failure Help Kidney Failure Treatment Kidney Stone Lupus Nephritis Multicystic Kidney Polycystic Kidney Disease Pyelonephritis Renal Tubular Acidosis Rhabdomyolysis Wilson's Disease Links Email Mama Is surrogacy right for you? A personal story about the battle with polycystic kidney disease Sign up for the MamasHealth Newsletter	What is Multicystic Kidney Dysplasia? Multicystic kidney dysplasia is a condition characterized by the formation of multiple cysts of varying sizes on the kidney. Multicystic kidney dysplasia is present at birth. The cysts are usually visible on prenatal ultrasounds. Multicystic kidney dysplasia usually involves only one kidney. Multicystic kidney dysplasia is also called MKD. Complications of Multicystic Kidney Dysplasia? The most common complication of multicystic kidney dysplasia is shrinkage of the affected kidney. The shrinkage of the kidney rarely causes problems. In some cases, multicystic kidney dysplasia can cause high blood pressure and/or reduced kidney function. The unaffected kidney may increase in size as it takes over function from the multicystic kidney. When multicystic kidney dysplasia affects both kidneys, it usually causes kidney failure shortly after birth. What Causes Multicystic kidney dysplasia? Most researchers believe multicystic kidney dysplasia is caused by a urinary tract obstruction during early fetal development. Difference between Multicystic kidney dysplasia and Polycystic kidney disease? Polycystic kidney disease is an inherited genetic disorder in which clusters of cysts form in both kidneys. Polycystic kidney disease can also cause cysts in the liver and problems in other organs, such as the heart and blood vessels in the brain. The most serious complications of polycystic kidney disease are reduced kidney function and high blood pressure. Kidney failure is common. The two main types of polycystic kidney disease are: Autosomal dominant Polycystic kidney disease is inherited. This kind of Polycystic kidney disease accounts for about 90 percent of all Polycystic kidney disease cases. The term "Autosomal dominant" means that if one parent has the disease, there is a 50 percent chance that the disease will pass to a child. Autosomal recessive Polycystic kidney disease is also inherited. This type of Polycystic kidney disease is rare. Parents that do not have the disease can have a child with the disease. How can this happen? If both parents carry the recessive gene and pass the recessive gene to their child, the child will have two recessive genes and develop the disease.(inherited).	Featured Book
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