Prevalence and Incidence of Clinical Symptoms of the Retroaortic Left Renal Vein

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the prevalence and incidence of clinical symptoms of retroaortic left renal vein (RLRV) diagnosed incidentally over 10 years by computed tomography (CT). Patients and Methods: 7,929 consecutive patients (out- and inpatients) were studied with multidetector CT from January 2000 to April 2011. We retrospectively reviewed RLRV patients' medical records and analyzed their clinical characteristics. Results: A total of 61 out of 7,929 patients had a RLRV, therefore the prevalence was 0.77%. Only 4 of 61 (6.6%) RLRV patients diagnosed by CT scan were clinically symptomatic. RLRV was associated with flank pain and microhematuria in one patient (1.6%), in another one with microhematuria only and in one with ureteropelvic junction obstruction. Furthermore, one patient suffered from arterial hypertension associated with a RLRV. Conclusions: RLRV is a rare finding, and only a small minority of RLRVs causes symptoms.