A solitary precaval right renal artery: A case report

Abstract

Abstract Knowledge of aberrant renal vasculature is critical for preoperative planning of either open or minimally invasive renal surgery. A precaval right renal artery is a rare anatomical variant in which the artery passes anterior to the inferior vena cava(IVC), as opposed to coursing posteriorly. When encountered, this artery is mostly accessory and thus accompanied by renal vessels in orthotopic position. Here, we describe an unusual instance of a solitary, main precaval right renal artery. It can be diagnosed preoperatively by a cross‐sectional imaging study. Awareness of this anomaly is very important to prevent iatrogenic injury during surgical intervention.

Keywords

• anatomical variation
• kidney
• precaval renal artery
• renal artery