Renal Cortical Cyst A renal cyst, or kidney cyst, is a fluid-filled sac that develops in one or both kidneys.

These sacs contain a watery fluid and usually have a round or oval shape. Typically benign (noncancerous), renal cysts rarely cause problems. In fact, many people may go through their entire lives without ever knowing that they have a renal cyst. If you suspect you have a kidney cyst, look into treatment options as soon as possible.

Symptoms and Detection Symptoms of a renal cortical cyst include pain in your back and abdomen and along your side between your ribs and hip; frequent urination; bloody or dark urine; and fevers. If you experiencing any of these symptoms, speak to your physician, who can examine you and order tests that can detect renal cysts. Your physician will use an ultrasound, computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan your kidneys and look for cysts.

Treatment If there is a small kidney cyst that isn't causing any problems, then the physician will generally leave it alone, though he may follow up with additional scans in six to 12 months. But if the patient experiences symptoms of a renal cortical cyst, then the physician will probably send the patient to a urologist, who specializes in diagnosing and treating kidney problems.

The urologist can determine whether renal cysts have grown randomly or whether they have resulted from polycystic kidney disease (PKD) ---an inherited disease the targets the kidneys and causes the growth of kidney cysts. Small or few renal cysts will generally not harm, but multiple or large cysts can cause pain, infection and damage to the kidneys. If the urologist suspects PKD, a schedule is made for biannual scans to check for the presence of cysts in the kidneys.

A physician can drain and permanently harden small renal cortical cysts by inserting a needle directly into them. The process removes fluid and replaces it with alcohol, which causes the tissue that makes up the cyst to harden. Larger cysts may require surgical removal. Most surgeons prefer laparoscopic surgery, which involves smaller incisions, a shorter hospital stay and a faster recovery. During the surgery, the surgeon can drain the cyst of fluid and then remove or burn away its outer layer of tissue.