John Ormond is credited with the first description of idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis (RF) in the English literature. Seventeen years later, he speculated correctly that the disease was systemic and was in the same group of diseases as lupus, scleroderma and periarteritis. Presently, idiopathic RF is considered part of a recently defined group of diseases known as IgG4 related diseases. The disease is generally treated medically but surgery can be required if there is ureteric obstruction.
KeywordsRetroperitoneal fibrosis; Ormond disease; IgG4-related disease.This paper is available online at http://www.grandrounds-e-med.com. In the event of a change in the URL address, please use the DOI provided to locate the paper.