What are the most common complications of a horseshoe kidney?
Renal tract calculi and infection. There is also increased susceptibility to trauma, and increased risk of urothelial malignancy.
What are some of the associations of horseshoe kidney?
They are numerous, and include - urogenital anomalies such as PUJ obstruction, vesicoureteric reflux and cryptorchidism; - cardiac, CNS and skeletal abnormalities; - syndromic, e.g. Turners syndrome.
What is the expected location of a horseshoe kidney isthmus, and why?
L4-L5 level, as the developmental renal ascent is limited by the IMA.
There is continuity of the renal parenchyma across the midline, in keeping with a horseshoe kidney. The cluster of calcifications seen on the x-ray is confirmed to be in the left renal pelvis. The left ureter is dilated, due to an obstructing calculus located just proximal to the vesicoureteric junction.