[Unilateral renal atrophy]

The authors report 45 cases of unilateral renal atrophy. The circumstances of discovery are related to the urological symptoms: pain, hematuria, pyuria. On the other hand, hypertension is rarely the reason for consultation. Women are more affected than men. Intravenous urography, retrograde cystography and arteriography are essential examinations to collect information concerning the etiology. Dynamic scintiscanning with measurement of the percentage of isotope fixed on the kidneys, has the advantage of permitting comparative evaluation of renal function on each side. In our study, obstruction of the urinary tract was more frequent than parenchymatous disease favoured by infection. Vascular abnormalities were rare. The etiological enquiry remained, however, negative in one third of cases. Surgical operation was necessary when a urological abnormality was the cause of persistence of severe symptoms. On the other hand, removal of the atrophic kidney does not seem to us advisable when decided simply to relieve hypertension. The latter point is particularly discussed.