The Intrathoracic Kidney: With a Review of the Literature

Intrathoracic Kidneys: Report of 6 Cases and a Review of the Literature

“…An ectopic thoracic kidney is usually asymptomatic, the finding being usually incidental as most of our cases [1,15]; or it is encoun tered at surgical exploration of a low intrathoracic paravertebral mass [17,19]. Most ectopic thoracic kidneys are located in the left hemithorax and most patients are males [20,24].…”

Thoracic Kidney

“…Thoracic kidney is more common on the left side (1.5:1). Presence of liver on the right side is thought to act as a barrier for superior migration of kidney on this side [2,3]. The thoracic kidney usually lies in the posterior mediastinum.…”

“…A lateral view confirms posterior mediastinal location of the mass. Intravenous pyelography or renal scintigraphy usually suffices to confirm the diagnosis [1][2][3].…”

“…There is partial or complete protrusion of the kidney above the level of diaphragm, into the posterior mediastinum. Since 1940, 92 cases of unilateral thoracic kidney and 4 cases of bilateral thoracic kidneys have been reported [1][2][3]. We report here a case of thoracic kidney in view of its rarity.…”

Right-Sided Bochdalek Hernia with Intrathoracic Ectopic Kidney in an Advanced-Age Adult: A Case Report

“…Ectopic intrathoracic kidney is an extremely rare congenital anomaly. It is also the least frequent form of ectopic kidneys with an incidence rate being <5% among all ectopic kidney cases [2,3]. Ectopic kidneys are thought to occur in approximately 1 in 1,000 births, but only about 1 in 10 of these is ever diagnosed.…”