Your child has been diagnosed with vesico-ureteric reflux (reflux). This is a condition that allows urine to reflux (flow back up) the ureter to the kidney when the pressure in the bladder is increased.

This is graded 1 - 5, with one being very minor and 5 being very severe. Grading is done on the basis of the findings at the cystogram, the x-ray procedure where dye is put into the bladder and observed entering the ureters and kidney. Children with reflux are susceptible to urine infections, which can lead to kidney scarring and damage or in more severe cases, the ureter and kidney becomes large, distorted and inefficient.

A ureteric reimplantation is an operation to treat reflux. It may be one (unilateral) or both (bilateral) ureters that need repairing. Several factors can lead to surgical correction, including:

• The child does not tolerate antibiotics
   
• Urine infections occur despite being on antibiotics
   
• The reflux continues over several years of monitoring, i.e. the child does not grow out of it
   
• The kidneys do not grow normally or start to develop scars on medical treatment alone
   
• Parents request surgery as an alternative to medical treatment.