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Ectopic kidney: what it is, the problems it can cause, the tests, and the treatment
For someone who has, or may have, an ectopic kidney (a kidney out of its usual place, such as a pelvic kidney or crossed renal ectopia), for a parent told after an ultrasound, and for the people beside them. It passes on, by name, what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says: what it is, what causes it, how common it is, the problems it can cause, the symptoms, the tests, the treatment, and living with one working kidney. It builds the questions to ask and prints a wallet card. Nothing is saved.
A word with a dotted line under it, like this, opens its official definition, quoted from a U.S. government glossary.
Right now
- Pain in your belly or back, fever, burning when you pee, or blood in your urine? NIDDK says to talk with a health care professional. Call your provider the same day; pain too much to bear, cannot keep liquids down, cannot pee, or cannot reach your provider: go to urgent care or an emergency room today (ours).
- Someone very ill, confused, fainting, or hard to wake? Call 911 (ours).
- Thoughts of suicide, or all too much? Call or text 988, any hour, free (ours).
More help
- On this site: One kidney (a solitary kidney) · Bladder infection (UTI) · Kidney infection · Kidney stones · Blood in the urine · Kidneys, bladder and urine: find the right page.
- Tests: Urinary tract imaging · How your kidneys work. Other pages: Kidney disease in children · High blood pressure · Pregnancy and a new baby.
- When it is hard to pay: When you need a doctor and can’t pay · Medical bills. Getting ready: Get ready for your appointment.
- In an emergency: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Kidneys, bladder or urine, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for bladder infections, kidney stones, blood in the urine, bladder pain, bladder leaks, the prostate, kidney disease and bedwetting, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 20, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page Ectopic Kidney (last reviewed September 2019, so some advice may have changed since). The numbers (about 1 in 1,000 people, from some studies; the first 8 weeks of growth) are NIDDK’s, and we add none. We name no medicines and give no doses. Ours: calling the same day; when to go to urgent care or an emergency room; getting care after a hard hit to the belly, side or back; the 911 line; asking who checks a baby’s kidneys after birth; the lines on checkups; 988; the questions to ask; the card; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: NIDDK’s section on research studies, its reference, and its thanks. Nothing you tick or type here is saved or sent.