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Case Reports
. 2011 Dec;45(4):177-80.

Retrocaval ureter: two case reports

M Y Kyei  1 , E D Yeboah, G O Klufio, J E Mensah, S Gepi-Atee, L Zakpaa, B Morton, B Adusei
Affiliations
Case Reports

Retrocaval ureter: two case reports

M Y Kyei et al. Ghana Med J. 2011 Dec.

Abstract

Retrocaval ureter also referred to as pre-ureteral vena cava is a rare congenital anomaly with the ureter passing posterior to the inferior vena cava. Though it is a congenital anomaly, patients do not normally present with symptoms until the 3rd and 4th decades of life from a resulting hydronephrosis. We present the first two cases to be reported in Ghana; a 36-year-old male and a 40-year-old female both with right flank pains and associated right hydronephrosis. Diagnoses were confirmed with retrograde ureteropyelogram and both had an open surgical repair of the anomaly.

Keywords: Retrocaval ureter; flank pain; hydronephrosis; pyeloureteric anastomosis; retrograde ureteropyelogram.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Intravenous pyelogram with non-visualization of right ureters (arrow)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Right retrograde ureteropyelogram showing an “S” shaped right uretero-pelvic region (arrowed)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Tapes around the right ureter with the ureter coursing behind the inferior vena cava (arrowed)
Figure 4
Figure 4
Right pyeloureteric anastomosis (arrowed) with the ureters positioned in front of the inferior vena cava
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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