Nephrostomy Side Effects and Warnings

Possible Complications

Complications are rare, but no procedure is completely free of risk. If you are planning to have a nephrostomy, your doctor will review a list of possible complications, which may include:

• Bleeding
• Infection
• Damage to nearby organs and tissue
• Kidney function loss
• Blood clots
• Reaction to the anesthesia (eg, light-headedness, low blood pressure, wheezing)
• Pain

Factors that may increase the risk of complications include:

• Liver failure
• Pregnancy
• Use of blood thinners
• Long-term illness

Call Your Doctor

After arriving home, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs:

• Catheter problems:

• Urine no longer drains
• Catheter is bent or twisted
• Leakage around the catheter
• Signs of infection, including fever or chills
• Urine becomes cloudy, bloody, or smells bad
• Sudden pain
• Redness, swelling, increasing pain, a lot of bleeding, or any discharge from the incision site
• Pain that you cannot control with the medicines you have been given

In case of an emergency, CALL 911.