Spontaneous renal artery dissection. Case report and review of the literature]

Focal idiopathic renal arterial dissection (RAD) is a rare event. Nevertheless, a RAD should always be considered in the differential diagnosis in patients with flank pain or acute abdomen, since only an immediate diagnosis and correction can guarantee the maintenance of kidney function. Early operation is also necessary because other clinical pictures with a similarly dramatic clinical course and similar symptoms can likewise only be treated surgically. These include a renal arterial aneurysm with endo-aneurysmatic thrombus and poststenotic dilatation in fibromuscular dysplasia. We describe the case of an isolated idiopathic RAD which could only be diagnosed in the context of abdominal pain symptoms. Clinical, pathophysiological and therapeutic aspects of RAD are discussed with reference to the case report and the international specialist literature.