Q: I am a 40 years old man who had severe abdominal pain 4 days back. In an ultrasound test, a stone in my right kidney and another stone in my ureter was found. Further I went for IVP, after which the doctor told me that I have two ureters in my right kidney and I have to be careful about this. I am taking medicines for the kidney stone. Is it a matter of concern having two ureters? What precautions should I take?

A:A double ureter means that a kidney is drained to urinary bladder by two different tubes instead of just one. Such abnormality is seen in 0.2% of live births. While one ureter drains the top of the kidney and another one drains the bottom part of the kidney. These ureters may be duplicated for the complete length till bladder, or may unite en-route (partial duplication). Some other kidney birth defects may be associated with complete ureteric duplications, like swelling of upper part (hydronephrosis) or reflux of urine into the lower part. People with double ureters are prone to get urinary tract infections. Such problems are less likely to happen with partial duplications. Partial duplications, though, may increase technical difficulties during surgical interventions as may be required for the stone, as in your case.