BOOZER ROB’S AMAZING
ISOBEL DICKINSON Chief Reporter BEER lover Rob Brown finally discovered the reason why he doesn’t get hangovers – he’s got five kidneys.
Doctors reckon the “medical marvel” is the first person in Britain – and only the second in the world – to have three extra kidneys.
He said: “I have had pain in my back for years, but every time I went to my GP he said I looked fine.
“One morning I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the loo and spotted some blood.
“I went straight to hospital and they did some scans and said they thought it could be kidney stones.
“A few days later I got a letter asking me to go back and they did some further tests.
“That’s when they told me I had five kidneys. The docs said they’d never seen anything like it. My consultant said I’m a medical marvel and now the doctors there want to examine me.
“It’s pretty strange to think I’ve had them there all this time.”
The former plasterer, of Beckenham, Kent, added: “I told all my mates, but they all thought I was kidding. I keep having to get out pictures of my scan to prove it.”
Tests at Beckenham Hospital revealed that he had five kidneys in a horseshoe shape in his body.
Further checks revealed Rob was suffering from chronic kidney disease. Despite having five of the organs he has only two ureters, which are the tubes connecting them to the bladder.
Rob added: “I do get a lot of pain in my stomach and back and some days I can’t even sit down.
“I’m not sure what it means in the long run. I’m having tests at the moment and they are trying to figure out what to do.
“They aren’t sure because none of them has ever seen it before so they haven’t got anything to reference.
“But one of the perks is that I don’t get hangovers and I can drink a lot.”
Doctors are trying to decide whether it would be safe to remove any of the extra kidneys, which are joined together.
If they can, Rob said he would be happy to donate them to anyone in need.
He said: “I’d love to think I could help someone out who might need them – after all, I have got five.”
Consultant urologist Robyn Webber said: “The only similar case seems to be a man from New Zealand.
“The bottom line is that this is extremely rare. There is no doubt that his kidneys are highly unusual.”