Abdominal aortic surgery in the presence of a horseshoe kidney

Prior experience with the rare combination of horseshoe kidney and significant atherosclerotic vascular disease suggests difficulty in intraoperative management, often requiring division of the renal isthmus or sacrifice of some renal tissue. Seven patients have been managed successfully over the past ten years at The Ohio State University Hospital. There were six men and one woman, ranging in age from 39 to 66 years. Of the five patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm, four had a pulsatile abdominal mass, three had abdominal pain, and one had back pain. The other two patients had progressively symptomatic aortoiliac disease. All seven patients had hypertension, easily controlled by medication. Critical diagnostic procedures are preoperative intravenous pyelogram (IVP) and abdominal aortic arteriogram. The IVP detected the previously unsuspected diagnosis in 100% of the cases. The arteriogram accurately located the aneurysm in relation to the renal vascular supply, and disclosed aberrant blood supply in three of four patients with aberrant vessels. All seven horseshoe kidneys were fused at the lower pole. The operative approach involves meticulous dissection of the aberrant blood supply to the kidneys, and mobilization of the isthmus for adequate retrorenal aortic exposure. In six of the seven patients, the grafts were placed posterior to the isthmus. There were no deaths, and there were no complications related to the presence of the horseshoe kidney. In three of the seven patients, hypertension improved. Patients with horseshoe kidney and aortic disease may be safely operated upon without damage to the kidney. IVP and selective angiography are essential to provide preoperative information.