If the blood contains high levels of these waste products, some kidney damage may have already occurred. But most children with the nephrotic syndrome do not have permanent kidney damage. In some cases, the doctor may want to examine a small piece of the child's kidney under a microscope to see if substances there are causing the syndrome. The procedure of collecting a small tissue sample from the kidney is called a biopsy, and it is usually performed with a long needle passed through the skin. The child will be awake during the procedure and receive calming drugs and a local painkiller at the site of the needle entry.
General anesthesia is used in the very rare cases where open surgery is required.
The child will stay overnight in the hospital to rest and allow the health care team to ensure that no problems occur. The most common form of the nephrotic syndrome in children is called minimal change disease. Doctors do not know what causes it. The condition is called minimal change disease because children with this form of the nephrotic syndrome have normal or nearly normal biopsies. If your child is diagnosed with minimal change disease, the doctor will probably prescribe prednisone, which belongs to a class of drugs called corticosteroids.