EC Clinical and Medical Case Reports

Nutcracker phenomenon is a rare entity described as extrinsic compression of the left renal vein resulting in mesoaortic segment narrowing and hilar segment dilation of the vein.

Nutcracker syndrome refers to the associated clinical symptoms (abdominal pain, hematuria, and/or proteinuria) when associated with the anatomic and hemodynamic findings of nutcracker phenomenon.

The syndrome can be categorized into two types: anterior, which involves the compression of the left renal vein between the aorta and the superior mesenteric artery (SMA), and posterior, which refers to the compression of a retroaortic left renal vein situated between the aorta and the vertebral column. The incidence of retroaortic left renal vein is only 0.5% to 3.7% which explains why the posterior nutcracker syndrome is more rare.

This rare diagnosis must be looked for in front of the symptoms described above.

Our two cases had left lumbar pain resistant to routine treatment and persistent haematuria.

 Keywords: Nutcracker Syndrome; Abdominal Pain; Hematuria

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