Anomalies of the left renal vein: analysis of 433 CT scans

The incidence of circumaortic left renal vein (4.4%) and single retroaortic left renal vein (1.8%) was evaluated in 433 abdominal computed tomography (CT) studies. Computed tomography was felt to be adequate for demonstrating anomalies in a majority of cases. Important preoperative evaluation can be provided by routine CT, obviating more invasive procedures in some instances. Differentiation of these anomalies from retroperitoneal pathology can be made by the radiologist.