Anatomical features of coexisting horseshoe kidney and double inferior vena cava.
Naofumi Horio, Narumi Miyaura, Kenta Nagahori et al.
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
Case in brief
During cadaveric dissection of a 96-year-old Japanese man, investigators found a horseshoe kidney coexisting with a double inferior vena cava. The kidneys were joined by a fibrous and parenchymal isthmus below the inferior mesenteric artery. Four right and three left renal arteries were present, as well as an additional vein from the isthmus to the left adrenal gland. The two venae cavae ascended on either side of the aorta without communicating veins. Histology showed atrophic renal tubules and increased connective tissue in the isthmus.
What made this case unusual
The combination included marked vascular variation: seven renal arteries in total, an additional isthmus-derived vein draining to the left adrenal gland, and bilateral venae cavae without communicating veins.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
In coexisting horseshoe kidney and double inferior vena cava, assess renal and retroperitoneal vascular anatomy carefully; unrecognized variants may complicate imaging interpretation and renal or vascular surgery.