A severe kidney trauma with the kidney split apart after a motor vehicle accident
Kidneys are injured more often than any of the organs along the urinary tract. Blunt force due to motor vehicle crashes, falls, or sports injuries is the usual cause of injury. Penetrating kidney injuries can result from gunshot or stab wounds. Less commonly, injuries can occur during diagnostic tests, such as a kidney biopsy, or during various treatments, such as those for kidney stones, including extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. Most blunt kidney injuries are minor. However, some are serious. If serious blunt or penetrating kidney injuries are not treated, complications, such as kidney failure, high blood pressure, delayed bleeding, and infection, may result.Symptoms of a kidney injury may include pain or bruising in the upper abdomen or the area between the ribs and hip , blood in the urine or pain resulting from fractures of the lower ribs. When kidney injuries are severe, low blood pressure (shock) and anemia may occur if the person loses a significant amount of blood.For minor kidney injuries, careful control of fluid intake and bed rest are often the only treatment needed because these measures allow the kidney to heal itself. For more serious injuries, fluids and sometimes blood are given intravenously to help keep blood pressure within a normal range and stimulate urine production. Only serious blunt injuries, such as when the kidney is bleeding persistently, is surrounded by a blood clot that is expanding, or is torn from its attachments to blood vessels, require surgical repair. Serious penetrating injuries also require surgical repair. Rarely, the injured kidney needs to be removed.