Abstract / Summary
Introduction: Adaptive changes occur in the solitary kidney after radical nephrectomy (RN), but data on stone and cyst formation in such patients are limited. These patients are increasingly followed in primary care, making this risk directly relevant to family physicians.Methods: This study evaluated 72 patients who underwent RN for kidney cancer and 50 control individuals without urinary complaints. Demographic and clinical data—including age, comorbidities, tumor features, serum creatinine (pre- and postoperative), renal parenchymal thickness, echogenicity, hydronephrosis, and presence/size of kidney stones or cysts—were analyzed. Renal function was additionally assessed as eGFR (CKD-EPI) and staged by KDIGO chronic kidney disease (CKD) categories.Results: Follow-up serum creatinine was significantly higher in the RN group than in the control group [median (IQR), 1.19 (1.00–1.45) vs. 0.92 (0.79–1.02) mg/dL; p < 0.001]. Renal cysts (33.3% vs. 52.0%; p = 0.039) and kidney stones (6.9% vs. 26.0%; p = 0.004) were less frequent in the RN group than in the control group. Among participants with renal cysts, cyst size did not differ significantly between groups (p = 0.719). Among participants with kidney stones, median stone size was greater in the RN group than in the control group [6.0 (6.0–11.0) vs. 3.5 (3.0–4.5) mm; p = 0.014]. Age was not significantly associated with follow-up serum creatinine, kidney stone occurrence, or renal cyst occurrence.Conclusion: Renal function declined after RN, whereas kidney stones and renal cysts were not more frequent in patients with a solitary kidney than in controls. These findings suggest that acquired solitary kidney status after RN is not associated with an increased occurrence of renal stones or cysts during follow-up. Nevertheless, continued monitoring of renal function remains important in the long-term follow-up of these patients.