Retrocaval ureter: diagnostics and therapeutic implications. Case report.

The authors present and discuss the case of a patient affected by a rare congenital malformation, retrocaval ureter. In this malformation patients complain of varying symptoms, pain, recurrent urinary infection, hematuria, depending on the varying ureteral compression. Diagnosis is confirmed by urography, cavography and now by computed tomography. The choice of conservative or surgical treatment, and correct timing of the latter, requires careful attention. The surgical technique proposed for the correction of retrocaval ureter is end-to-end uretero-ureteric anastomosis after sectioning the ureter above the ureteropelvic junction. After surgery the pelvic dilatation tends to reduce very slowly but this does not influence the favourable prognosis of the disease if correct surgical treatment is performed.