Doctor speaks: Why are kidneys of young professionals shutting down?

Hyderabad: Urologist from Hyderabad Dr Vaddi Chandramohan has set a world record for endoscopically removing kidney stones from a four-and-a-half-month-old infant in 2019. This feat was also published in the American Journal of Medicine. He is also the first urologist to introduce laser surgery for nephrology in undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2009.

The infant whom he operated upon from Old City was sent to him from Niloufer Hospital and the child was found to be suffering from stones in the kidney. The baby was successfully treated using the minimally invasive retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) technique and is now doing fine.

Dr. Chandramohan is an alumnus of AIIMS Delhi and PGIMER Chandigarh. In an interview with News Meter, Dr Chandramohan, who is also the director and owner of Preethi Urology and Kidney Hospital talks about the kidney and urological issues affecting younger professionals; how to identify the symptoms early, prevention, and the latest treatment modalities.

Long hours of sitting in AC rooms cause several health problems for professionals

“The most common kidney-related problems seen nowadays are kidney stones, infection, renal and bladder cancer. Kidney stones and urological infections are commonly observed in young professionals, especially the IT group, many of whom come to us for treatment. The main reasons are their work culture and lifestyle,” says Dr. Chandramohan,

“Two hours of continuous sitting and working is akin to smoking one cigarette. IT and other white-collar jobs entail long hours of sitting at the workstation in front of the laptop in an air-conditioned environment. People tend to drink very little water, hardly they sip one litre throughout the day instead of the required three litres, which dehydrates them. This work culture with long sitting hours adversely affects the digestive system, endocrine system or metabolism, blood circulation, enhancing the risk of stroke and cardiovascular ailments, diabetes, high BP apart from causing kidney and urological ailments.”

“Apart from the above, fertility issues like erectile dysfunction, low sperm count, etc are also noted in men due to various factors such as late marriages, opting for parenthood in the late 30s and 40s, work stress, lack of family time, prolonged exposure to electromagnetic radiation from laptops,” adds the urologist.

Faulty diet taking its toll

Besides lack of exercise and sitting constantly, drinking very little water, the situation is worsened by faulty diet and dehydration.

“It is observed that instead of drinking adequate water, these working professionals are drinking more coffee, soda and soft drinks, high sugar containing processed and artificial juices, alcohol, etc. These cannot be a replacement for drinking water. It is a myth that beer can compensate for water. All these cause further dehydration, headache, increased risk of obesity, and other lifestyle diseases. They also eat carbohydrate and fat-rich food like cheese, red meat, processed ready-to-eat deep fried chicken and other meat,” avers Dr. Chandramohan.

Remedies: Eat right and exercise

“For professionals, whose work requires them to sit long hours in the office, I recommend at least 30 minutes of workout, especially cardio that should raise the heart rate between 120-140, cause sweating. Minimise junk food, alcohol, artificially sweetened beverages, caffeine, and milkshakes; instead opt for plain clean drinking water, diluted buttermilk, and coconut water. Homemade fruit juices without adding sugar can also be taken. Incorporate lean protein and green vegetables in your diet and cut down the high-fat, high-carb junk food. Don’t reheat or re-cook the food in used oils,” advises the doctor.

‘Don’t ignore the early warning signs of renal and urinary malfunction’

The early symptoms of kidney ailments include overall physical weakness or fatigue, less urine output (less than 500 ml in 24 hours), swelling of feet and eyes in the morning hours, change in skin color to pale yellowish, and loss of luster of hair. The symptoms of urological issues and infections include pain in the lower abdomen, blood and/or pain during urination, and a burning sensation in urine. However, if the patient is above 60 years old and there is painless bleeding during urination, it is highly indicative of bladder cancer, especially if the patient has a family history of bladder cancer and has been a smoker.

Latest treatment modalities

“Instead of open surgeries, which require perforation of the kidneys, minimally invasive retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) can be done using a viewing tube or endoscope. Laser lithotripsy to reduce the size and eventually remove kidney stones can also be opted for. These endoscopic and minimally invasive procedures are safer and more precise. For treatment of renal cancer, a laparoscopic technique called partial nephrectomy allows removal of only part of the kidney and not the entire organ by clamping and suturing the remaining part and finishing the surgery within 40 minutes,” says Dr. Chandramohan.