Surgery on solitary kidneys in childhood

From 1969 to 1984, 31 children were operated on for a diseased solitary kidney. There was a peak of incidence during the first 2 years of life, due mostly to congenitally malformed solitary kidneys. In contrast, operations in older children became necessary for diseased residual kidneys. In some children, secondary or even multiple operations had to be performed in order to maintain satisfactory organ function. Except in three preuraemic patients, renal functions were fully compensatory during a follow-up of 1-16 years. Former reservations regarding surgical intervention in solitary kidneys should be dropped in the face of these good operative results.