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Dad's Kidneys

Posted May 31, 2002

Make a fist. That's the size of a regular kidney. Now hold your breath and take a look at this. (Warning: Icky medical photo.)

That's a photo of Dedair's father's polycystic kidneys, which were successfully removed a year ago. Weighing between 16 to 18 pounds combined, they were the second-largest set of kidneys the University of Pennsylvania has ever seen. The staff retained them for teaching purposes. Blecch!

51 Comments (Add Yours)

May 31, 2002
9:37 PM  
Shannon wrote:

You do realize that "retained for teaching purposes" roughly translates to "whipped out when the kegger gets boring," right?


Jun 1, 2002
12:19 AM  
matt wrote:

It is now a little after midnight. I was thinking of partaking in a sandwich or some kind of late evening snack. Not going to happen now. Thank you very much Andy.


Jun 1, 2002
1:03 AM  
Chris wrote:

I think it's just incredibe that a human body would produce those 'things'.. fascinating.


Feb 3, 2003
5:13 PM  
chris wrote:

what are the bobbles on the kidneys. are the tumors or something.


Feb 3, 2003
7:23 PM  
Andy wrote:

I assume that there's cysts, but who knows? They give me the willies.


Feb 24, 2003
2:45 AM  
BigBelly wrote:

OK Kiddies - here it is ! I HAVE kidneys just like this , and yes the "bobbles" are in fact bubbles- they are fiberous and fluid filled cysts. They are filled with other goodies too - sometimes even infectious goodies. And Yes , this is painful ( duh!), so the next time you see somebody with a big gut and think "Geez! What a fat slob! - well just remember this picture and realize that some of us didn't choose to look the way we do! That is why these are called "inflictions". :^P
Oh ,yeah, by the way , the really exciting part of this whole thing is that you can very easily die a long painful death from this stuff - and there is a 50/50 chance that you will pass this very same disease on to your children! Kinda makes a case for the use of condoms- doesn't it?

Have a nice day!


Apr 16, 2003
9:07 PM  
Bongohead wrote:

Oh my god... I want to play with them!


May 7, 2003
8:20 AM  
Andrew wrote:

OH MY GOD THESE THINGS ARE BLOODY ALIENS! WHO THE HELL HAD THESE? I AM IN A STATE OF NAUSEA


May 7, 2003
8:22 AM  
kidney lover wrote:

oh they are sooooooooo sweet. i could eat one of them whole!


Jun 15, 2003
6:13 AM  
sick wrote:

you people are sick


Jun 15, 2003
6:14 AM  
sick wrote:

i havent eaten in like 24 hrs and i was about to go eat something and im like right after this one and i look and there are those kidneys


Aug 23, 2003
3:46 PM  
katie wrote:

YOU MIGHT WANT TO WARN pEOPLE THAT THAT PICtURE IS GRapHIC.

shit


Sep 15, 2003
5:10 AM  
sarah wrote:

They're so disgusting, how could someone walk around with those things on their back. Geeze that must of been painful. Gross, gross, gross.


Sep 30, 2003
4:45 PM  
Tina wrote:

gross, but interesting. Nobody asked how we was after getting them taken out...I hope he's doing good!


Feb 7, 2004
11:29 PM  
lisa wrote:

oohn, I finally found my new earings!


Aug 30, 2004
11:26 PM  
Anonymous wrote:

I'd like to reiterate that warning request about graphic content. My back is still itching.

To Andy; Wow. Are you holding up well?
Is there a web site or something with additional information on this condition? This whole thing makes me want to donate to cure reaserch or something.


Aug 31, 2004
4:22 AM  
bgm wrote:

What do you reckon they smell like then?


Apr 9, 2005
12:10 PM  
sarahlynnn17 wrote:

gross


Apr 17, 2005
11:23 AM  
sarahlynn17 wrote:

those things are so freakin nasty!!! i'm gonna go and puke now...


Aug 26, 2005
7:35 AM  
Lisa wrote:

Thank you. I too have polycystic kidney disease. So does my mother and so did my grandfather. He went through a few years on dialysis and finally received a transplant. And yes, the biggest fear is that one of my two boys may have it too. But I thank you for the true image.


Nov 25, 2005
9:16 AM  
robert wrote:

i cant get over those kidneys!
i keep looking at them over and over w/ amazement.
is this person ok.what happened ?
is he on dialysis or recently transplanted?
i went to dedair.com and its a lampshade co.
what did they feel like ?
was breathing hard?
the human body sure can whip up some pretty amazing shit
good luck


Jan 17, 2006
4:46 AM  
liam wrote:

what the hells wrong with them


Feb 4, 2006
12:59 AM  
Rae wrote:

wow. when i was searching google images i had nothing to search for so i just searched "kidneys" hoping to find something cool then i saw your picture and i was all "that is so awesome..." but i feel real sorry for that dude. how is he now? d'ya mind if i save the picture? i think my friends would feel interested. oh yeah and all those dudes who said eww and gross and stuff...it's just lucky you didn't get that disease. oh and Andy (is that right?) put Gross medical picture or something like that...right now i feel hungrier than ever..i think it's because those kidneys look like meat. o_O


Mar 11, 2006
7:58 PM  
jen wrote:

i was searching "kidney" to prove a kid at school wrong about their location in the body. well i realized i was right but didn't stop after i got my answer because i saw this picture. i hope this guy is alright and i hope he knows that God is always with him..and all those people out there that have this same problem..God bless you and i hope you make it through.


Apr 5, 2006
3:06 AM  
Isaac wrote:

How the HECK does a guy walk around with that shoving every organ in his abdomin down and out!!?? For goodness sake they are HUGE even in comparison to the nurses hands! Why is there a black cyst? This could be the 8th wonder of the world i reckon.


Oct 25, 2006
12:00 PM  
Dori wrote:

Holy crap... I can only imagine what type of unhumane pain he went through...


Nov 27, 2006
3:26 PM  
thats creepy... wrote:

wow...i was looking up kidneys for a project and needed apic but now im a little freaked...yeah im going to avoid ur site.um..where the hell did you get this pic?!


Feb 5, 2007
11:41 AM  
c wrote:

ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!1 That is so disgusting!! You guys are crazy!!! ewww I cant get over it!!! just take that picture off the internet!!! for Gods sake!!!!!


Mar 1, 2007
8:03 PM  
rae wrote:

Having a kidney like that could be really painfull....


Apr 19, 2007
5:28 PM  
heath wrote:

I too have PKD, and my kidneys aren't that bad yet. It is very sad, and yes very painful. As your kidneys grow, and get my infected with cyst, they do run into other organs and put pressure on places that aren't suppose to have pressure. I am 32 years old and they say in 5 years i will be on dialysys, and on a transplant list. I don't mind your jokes, and i am sure it is easier to make jokes than to imagine you might have the same thing in your body. All I ask is be passionate, because it is a life changing event, and it is not a fun disease to have. If you have any real comments or questions, please contact me at 4runnerdude@comcast.net or do a google search for polycystic kidney disease. There is no cure!!


May 9, 2007
5:50 AM  
nick wrote:

wow, thats intresting and yet gross.


May 20, 2007
10:44 AM  
Heather wrote:

That is awesome! Those kidneys are huge! And i thought disecting a cat was bad.


May 21, 2007
6:50 PM  
Alana wrote:

I'm amazed at the size of those kidneys! It's questionable how anyone could survive with kidneys that big.

I don't find them gross, but fascinating.


Jun 18, 2007
1:07 AM  
Daniel wrote:

Far out thats a nasty site, my daughter just had her polycystic kidney removed at 9 mths old the cysts are more clustered but it was only 2cm where as a normal new born babys kidney is 3-4cm's. thankyou for sharing, i have a picture but i dont know how to post it. i'll try later


Jun 19, 2007
11:22 PM  
kim wrote:

wow! i want to become a doctor to help those guys that need help.and those people who wrote ew gross and shits like that.you have things just like that in your body. so becareful of what you say before you regret it.and i hope your all better now to that dude.and if i become a doctor.i will really make sure that those things wont be hapening in the future.and God is going to help me achieve that too. i PROMISE!


Jul 17, 2007
4:59 PM  
Anonymous wrote:

thats some screwed up kidneys. im sitting in class searching kidneys and then THAT shows up....


Jul 24, 2007
9:26 AM  
michelle wrote:

i agree with all you guys who think its gross. but i have this disease along with my mother, 1 of my sisters and my niece. my mam is recovering from a kidney transplant which she got after waiting 2 years for it. she is one of the lucky ones, some people wait even longer or until its too late. its the most painfull experience, not only having the disease but having to watch the rest of my family go through the same thing.


Aug 9, 2007
5:51 PM  
Chrissy wrote:

I am glad to see that this picture is getting some much needed and deserved attention. I too, have PKD. It is a terrible disease and is more common than you think. To all of you viewing this picture: Imagine how it feels walking around with what is essentially a "ticking time bomb" in your body. PKD is a life threatening, hereditary kidney disease. It causes pain (obviously), High Blood Pressure, aneurysms, stroke, water rentntion, blood in the urine, kidney stones, frequent UTI's, heart problems, etc. I am 28 years old. Both of my kidneys' are the size of footballs. I had heart surgery when I was 21 because of problems related to the kidney disease. I have high blood pressure, frequent UTI's, kidney infections and headaches. There is NO cure and NO treatment for this disease! It's very sad. If you feel called to learn more about this disease, you can visit the PKD foundation's website at www.pkdfoundation.org. Or, you can even visit my personal page on their website by visiting www.pkdcure/goto/chrissy.stere. Thank you for reading.


Oct 6, 2007
3:23 PM  
Melinda wrote:

I think that it looks cool. I had part of my left kidney removed about 7 years ago. Wow! Was the kidney diseased?


Nov 13, 2007
9:04 AM  
Melissa wrote:

Oh, my god! That's what mine look like. Both of my kidneys measure to 20cm. And I'm only 33.


Dec 2, 2007
9:42 PM  
lily solinap bsn nursing student wrote:

my very young friend who has sufferings from kidney malfuntions, she goes on dialisis,she often cried me out,the pain that she has truely incounter, she said that,kidney is really emportant organ system,in our body,as what she verbalized. oh,, my friend i love you, hope you wil recover soon.


Apr 2, 2010
11:51 AM  
cuka wrote:

next week i am going to have my first scan done because my doctor think i may have this due to a ultra sound that i had a year ago. i am very worry and nervious because i want to live to be a mother and raise my kids.


Apr 11, 2010
11:51 AM  
Ang wrote:

Unbelieveable. Yes, those are cysts; Polycystic Kidney is what it looks like. Just diagnosed with this myself; I'm 48 and no where near this stage yet. Hope he received a transplant and doing well, not the alternative. A very scary disease to have and yes, quite painful. My god the pain those must have caused.


Jun 18, 2010
4:10 AM  
Denis wrote:

God help and save all those who suffers from this PKD.


Jun 25, 2010
9:35 AM  
karla jimenez wrote:

i have never seen anything like this i didnt think it would look like this.


Aug 17, 2011
11:01 AM  
Lisa wrote:

Yes, these are real and people do live with them, and die from them. I lost my father and two of my brothers to this disease at ages 50, 49 and 40. My last remaining brother at 53 has just undergone a kidney transplant with his wife acting as donor. His kidneys weighed 7 and 11 lbs. and were the size of footballs. He lost over 30 lbs. in two days as a result of the surgery (water retention, etc.) and his huge stomach disappeared. His new kidney is performing perfectly and at two weeks out, he is already looking and feeling so much better. I just wish my father and other two brothers had this opportunity before they died. Now I have my nieces and nephews to worry about. And no, luckily I don't have the disease. It was a 50/50 coin toss and I lucked out.


Aug 22, 2011
12:22 PM  
Martin wrote:

I have just recieved the photos from my cat scan. Mine now measure 12" x 10" x 6" they fill my chest cavity and go from my heart to my groin. Very painfull. So we are now talking with surgeons to remove both and prepare me for dialysis. My grandfather died before they could do anything, my father has had two transplants (1st one rejected after 15yrs) my brother is more or less at the same stage as me and my sons aren't old enough to be tested yet. As you said Lisa,something to worry about in the future.great to hear that your brother is doing well. Send him my regards.


Aug 26, 2011
3:20 PM  
Vivienne wrote:

My brother's kidneys were just removed just this morning. His left kidney was so big, he couldn't eat, since it was pushng on his stomach. Our father died of PKD a year ago. (He lost 4 siblings to this terrible disease). My sister has it, my niece has it, as well as many cousins. Another sister of mine is donating one of her kidneys, after her final testing, to our brother. We can only hope for the best.


Sep 22, 2011
10:45 AM  
kyle wrote:

woooooo man im so sorry


Sep 29, 2011
8:09 PM  
Allie wrote:

I'm a student nurse. I looked up polycystic kidneys on google as a study aide. This came up and made me so happy. I know it may be gross to a lot of you but it's completely fascinating to people in the medical field. :-)
Love awesome genetic anomalies.


Oct 3, 2011
11:24 AM  
john osman wrote:

ill eat them any day


 

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