Is the pain in the groin due to a single kidney?

Q: For the last four years, I have recurrent mild pain with poking and burning sensation on the right side of my groin area. This comes every six months and stays for a month and then goes away with or without medication. I have a solitary kidney, as my left kidney is absent since birth. But all my kidney parameters like urea or creatinine are under control. I have done an ultrasound, IVU, and other tests for infection and all were negative. The semen test had E. coli, but antibiotics do not seem to have any effect. My urologist feels that it could be non-specific prostatitis. But no significant urinary infection was found. What could be the reason for this pain? Is it related to my right kidney, as the pain comes form there? What is the remedy and what tests have to be done for proper diagnosis?

A:You have intermittent right groin dull pain coming approximately twice a year and disappearing without any significant treatment. It is not uncommon to have dull aching loin pain on the normal kidney side if you have an absent opposite partner. It is usually explained by compensatory hypertrophy of the single organ, meaning the size of such kidney is significantly larger than the normal kidney. It, however, is unlikely to cause isolated groin pain, as in your case. You must have yourself examined and tested for varicocele or any pathology in your spermatic cord and right scrotum which may cause such dull groin ache.