Wellness  

Man Removes His Record-Breaking Kidney After They Start Crushing Some Organs

By Modupeoluwa Adekanye

07 October 2021   |   10:54 am

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A man who was left partly paralysed due to his "record-breaking" kidneys has had life-saving surgery to get them removed, he is now training to go back to his much-loved triathlons. Warren Higgs, 52, from Windsor, had polycystic kidney disease (PKD), which meant his kidneys continued to grow to the point where they weighed 45…

A man who was left partly paralysed due to his “record-breaking” kidneys has had life-saving surgery to get them removed, he is now training to go back to his much-loved triathlons.

Warren Higgs, 52, from Windsor, had polycystic kidney disease (PKD), which meant his kidneys continued to grow to the point where they weighed 45 kilos, Berkshire Live reports.

The condition left him largely immobile and in constant pain, while he was also paralysed down one side after suffering three strokes.

His kidneys had grown so large they were beginning to crush his heart, lungs, and stomach. It is uncertain when he will get his new kidney but it is thought it will be in the new year.

Despite dialysis making his recovery painful, Warren is back in the gym to get fit enough to return to his hobby, namely triathlons according to a report by The Mirror.

He told BerkshireLive, the kidneys removed weighed 45 kilos and that the huge, swollen belly he had before has now virtually disappeared.

The next stage is another operation to put a new kidney back in, which Warren hopes will happen in the new year.

Warren said previously his left kidney was 42cm by 27cm and the right one was 49cm by 28cm.

Warren said his surgeons told him that “in every single way you measure it” he had set a new record with the size of his heaviest kidney.

Now, he’s on the road to recovery but is finding one aspect particularly gruelling.

He said:

The operation went well and I’m slowly recovering. I was told there was a 50/50 chance I could die as a result of the operation, but it was successful and I’m now recovering. I’m going back to the gym now too, which is great.What I am struggling with is having to do dialysis. I find it totally exhausting – it leaves me wiped out. I’d warn anyone facing the same situation to think hard about it and to not take the fact you’re going to be doing dialysis most days lightly – it is hard. I’m feeling much better, I’m still trying to lose weight after the operation. I go to the gym when I can, sometimes before I do the dialysis. It’s hard because I don’t know when a kidney will be available. There was one, but the doctors said it was too soon after the operation for me to be ready for it.