Pancake kidney – a rare form of renal malformation in a 7-year-old girl. A case report and a literature review

Abstract

Renal ectopia and renal fusion belong to a group of congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract that mostly remain asymptomatic and are diagnosed incidentally. Patients with congenital renal anomalies are prone to urinary tract infections and stone formation, and ultimately more likely to develop chronic kidney disease. Pancake kidney is one of the rarest types of renal anomaly, with complete fusion of the superior and inferior poles as well as the middle parts of both kidneys in the pelvic cavity into a pancake-like mass. Imaging studies play a key role in the diagnosis of this anomaly. We present a case of a girl diagnosed with pancake kidney at the age of 8 years. The patient did not present with any alarming symptoms and the suspicion of renal malformation was raised after an abdominal ultrasound, which shew that the left kidney was missing from its typical location. Ultimately, computed tomography allowed for precise imaging of the urinary tract and establishing the diagnosis.