The Long Waist and Movable Kidney

I have had an opportunity to observe a number of cases of movable kidney in the last twenty years. These cases have been of much interest to me and I have made a series of observations which agree in the main with some statements published last summer in the Medical Record, from Dr. A. E. Gallant. He believes that the weight of the clothing and compression at the waist line at and after puberty, have an important effect on girls in producing movable kidneys.

The author has reviewed fifty cases and made careful measurements and finds abnormalities in the length of the trunk, as shown by the distance between the suprasternal notch and upper border of the symphisis pubis, and deviation from the normal relation between the circumference of the waist and hips at the trochanters. There is hollowing of the epigastrium and bulging of the hypogastrium.

A respiratory rise and fall of the greater curvature of the stomach may be seen in thin-walled subjects. Displacement occurs frequently after childbirth and should be remedied by a firm abdominal binder and exercises while in bed. Prolapse of the colon and stomach are generally associated with that of the kidney. These conditions cannot, unfortunately, be remedied by operation.

A properly shaped corset, put on before rising, in a semiopisthotonos position, makes the patient comfortable and prevents complications.

Ellingwood's Therapeutist, Vol. 2, 1908, was edited by Finley Ellingwood M.D.