PKD Life - Spring 2020 - 21

A referral to a PKD
specialist may help
you better manage your
pain and improve
your day- to-day
quality of life.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
involves the use of electric currents to treat pain.
Electrodes placed on the body at the site of pain
deliver currents that travel through the nerve fibers
to short-circuit pain signals.
Acupuncture involves inserting very fine needles
into the skin at specific points on the body to alleviate pain. Although data in people with PKD is
scarce, acupuncture has been shown to be helpful
for back pain, a common complaint in people with
the disease.
SURGERY
Cyst aspiration has long been a treatment for
PKD pain. However, in about 80% of patients,
cysts recur.
Another option is sclerotherapy, the aspiration of
cysts followed by injection of agents that destroy the
cysts' inner lining to prevent them from re-forming.
The use of a foaming agent called sodium tetradecyl
sulfate, the same substance used to treat varicose
veins, is under investigation.
"Foam sclerotherapy is a minimally invasive procedure that may be used to remove large kidney and
liver cysts," Dr. Hogan says. In a recent University
of Toronto study in Kidney Medicine, the procedure
reduced cysts and the volume of the treated kidneys
by more than 20% and also reduced pain symptoms.
More research is needed.
When pain is very severe, patients may be candidates for nerve blocks or denervation-severing and
removing the nerves that supply the kidney or liver.
"That can be really helpful for some people," Dr.
Hogan says. "At the moment, we're getting relief for
six months or so with that procedure."
In extreme cases, doctors may perform nephrectomy, the removal of the kidney. "It's reserved for
people with severely enlarged kidneys causing pain,
bleeding, or other symptoms," Dr. Hogan says.
Soderstrom, who gets relief from oxycodone
and self-help measures such as heating pads
and hot baths, learned in January that she
was added to the waiting list for a kidney and
liver transplant.
"It would be life-changing," Soderstrom says.
"My husband and I have always wanted to explore
the country, and that would make it possible."
Fortunately the need for such extreme measures
is rare. "There are a good number of options we
can try to reduce patients' pain," Dr. Chonchol
says. "We're starting to have a good set of tools in
the clinic."

P K D C U R E .O R G

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3/24/20 1:11 PM

http://www.PKDCURE.ORG

PKD Life - Spring 2020

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