First lady Melania Trump underwent an undisclosed procedure Monday for a reportedly benign kidney condition. She was expected to remain in the hospital for at least a week to recover.

 

This has drawn up some speculation as to what the undisclosed kidney condition could be with urologists positing it could be a type of kidney tumor called an angiomyolipoma. Although uncommon, they do tend to occur in middle-aged women and can cause excessive bleeding among other symptoms such as:

• Sudden pain (back pain or flank pain)

• Nausea.

• Vomiting.

• Anemia.

• Hypertension.

• Chronic kidney disease.

• Shock (about 20% of patients that show symptoms develop shock)

Much of the time, however, there are no apparent symptoms and these tumors are not revealed until a person receives a medical scan for some other reason. When an angiomyolipoma is found, the typical treatment for such growths is a procedure called embolization, which utilizes a catheter to block off blood supply to the tumor. 

There are numerous kidney problems out there besides chronic kidney disease and kidney stones, and it’s important to consistently go for annual check-ups to reveal often symptom-less underlying conditions that can crop up and be easily remedies as long as they’re caught in time.

For more of the latest in all things kidney-related, be sure to check out our article backlog and YouTube for tons of kidney-health resources right at your fingertips.