Pancake kidney
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
At the time the article was created Avni K P Skandhan had no recorded disclosures.
View Avni K P Skandhan's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Mostafa Elfeky had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Mostafa Elfeky's current disclosures- Fused pelvic kidney
- Cake kidney
- Discoid kidney
- Disc kidney
- Pancake kidneys
- Disc kidneys
- Doughnut kidneys
- Discoid kidneys
Pancake kidney (also known as discoid kidney, disc kidney, lump kidney, fused pelvic kidney or cake kidney) is a rare renal fusion anomaly of the kidneys of the crossed fused variety.
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Clinical presentation
Pancake kidney may be an incidental finding. However, they can present clinically because of conditions that affect normal kidneys, such as:
- ureteropelvic junction obstruction
- recurrent infection
- recurrent calculi
- increased incidence of malignancies
Gross anatomy
The upper and lower poles of the kidneys are fused hence giving it an appearance of pancake 5 and usually give rise to two separate ureters which enter the bladder in a normal relationship.
An even more rare variant is when the cake kidney is drained by a single ureter (has been previously reported in only four patients) 5.
Pancake kidneys usually are situated anterior to the aortic bifurcation.
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Radiographic features
Pancake kidney can be demonstrated on ultrasound, CT, IVU, MRI, and scintigraphy.
Treatment and prognosis
Pancake kidney malformation is not necessarily associated with renal dysfunction but does require exclusion of concomitant anomalies and long-term follow-up for early detection of possible future complications such as:
- ureteropelvic junction obstruction
- recurrent infection
- recurrent calculi
- increased incidence of malignancies
- more prone to traumatic injury
Differential diagnosis
- horseshoe kidney: usually only the lower poles are fused
- cross fused renal ectopia: kidneys lie only on one side of the spine
References
- 1. Eze AR, White JV, Pathak AS et-al. "Pancake kidney": a renal anomaly complicating aortic reconstruction. Ann Vasc Surg. 1998;12 (3): 278-81. Pubmed citation
- 2. Dyer RB, Chen MY, Zagoria RJ. Classic signs in uroradiology. Radiographics. 2004;24 Suppl 1 (suppl 1): S247-80. Radiographics (full text) - doi:10.1148/rg.24si045509 - Pubmed citation
- 3. Eckes D, Lawrence P. Bilateral iliac artery aneurysms and pancake kidney: a case report. J. Vasc. Surg. 1997;25 (5): 927-30. Pubmed citation
- 4. Kaufman MH, Findlater GS. An unusual case of complete renal fusion giving rise to a 'cake' or 'lump' kidney. J. Anat. 2001;198 (Pt 4): 501-4. Free text at pubmed - Pubmed citation
- 5. Martínez-lázaro R, Cortés-blanco A. Cake kidney drained by single ureter: MAG3 renogram for diagnosis and function follow-up. Nephrol. Dial. Transplant. 2000;15 (10): 1700-1. doi:10.1093/ndt/15.10.1700 - Pubmed citation
- 6. Suresh J, Gnanasekaran N, Dev B. Fused supernumerary kidney. (2011) Radiology case reports. 6 (4): 552. doi:10.2484/rcr.v6i4.552 - Pubmed
Incoming Links
- Pancake kidney and undescended testis
- Crossed fused renal ectopia with single ureter
- Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome
- Pancake kidney
- Pancake kidney
- Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome
- Bilateral pelvic kidneys with PUJ obstruction, fusion and right-sided duplex system
- Bilateral pelvic kidneys with fusion and malrotation
- Supernumerary kidney
- Pancake kidney
- Pancake kidney
- Crossed fused renal ectopia
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