Retroperitoneal neurofibromatosis and venous anomalies

A 45-year-old woman had abdominal pain, azotemia, and hypertension. Intravenous pyelography revealed bilateral ureteral compression by extrinsic tumor masses that proved to be neurofibromata by histologic examination. After surgical removal of the tumors, she became normotensive and asymptomatic. In addition, severe medial hypertrophy of veins was seen in the tissue examined. We believe that the latter is most probably related to the neurofibromatosis and is analogous to the hypertrophic arterial changes known to occur in patients with von Recklinghausen's disease.