Published online Nov 6, 2018. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v6.i13.666
Peer-review started: August 1, 2018
First decision: August 24, 2018
Revised: September 9, 2018
Accepted: October 11, 2018
Article in press: October 11, 2018
Published online: November 6, 2018
Processing time: 97 Days and 18.2 Hours
The patient accidentally discovered anatomic abnormalities due to the abdominal pain caused by bowel cancer.
The patient was diagnosed with: (1) colon cancer; (2) bilateral thoracic kidneys; (3) anterior inferior vena cava (IVC); and (4) liver malformation.
Thoracic kidney, which showed as an abnormal shadow on the chest film, may usually be misdiagnosed as a diaphragmatic hernia, mediastinal lymphadenopathy, lung cancer, aortic aneurysm, and mediastinal tumor.
Contrast-enhanced computed tomography shows bilateral thoracic kidneys combined with an anterior IVC and a malformed liver.
We advised regular follow-up for the congenital abnormalities of thoracic kidneys in this case.
The IVC develops from the vitelline veins and the three paired cardinal veins including subcardinal veins, sacrocardinal veins and the supracardinal veins during embryonic development. The failure of the complex procedure involving development, regression, anastomosis, and replacement in the formation of IVC can result in anatomic abnormalities.
Thoracic kidney refers to the partial or complete protrusion of the kidney into the thorax. Anterior IVC refers to IVC located immediately behind the anterior abdominal wall.
Though with low incidence, thoracic kidneys should always be taken into consideration as one of differential diagnosis for an abnormal lesion in the thorax and intervention therapy is not always necessary.