Does the type of renal artery anatomic variant determine the diameter of the main vessel supplying a kidney? A study based on CT data with a particular focus on the presence of multiple renal arteries.
Surg Radiol Anat 2017;
40:381-388. [PMID:
28980056 PMCID:
PMC5880851 DOI:
10.1007/s00276-017-1930-z]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 09/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Background
An in-depth knowledge of renal vascular anatomy is essential when planning many surgical procedures; however, a few data exists regarding renal artery diameter. The aim of this study was to assess this morphological feature and to investigate whether a correlation exists between renal artery diameter and the type of arterial supply, with a particular emphasis on variant anatomy and the presence of multiple renal arteries.
Materials and methods
Computed tomography angiography (CTA) studies of 248 patients, i.e., a total of 496 kidneys, were evaluated. The mean age of the patients was 66.4 ± 15.01 years. Renal artery diameter was measured based on the type of arterial blood supply.
Results
The frequency of occurrence of three anatomic variants of renal arterial supply was established: single renal artery (RA) 43.35%, single artery with prehilar branching (pRA) 37.30%, and multiple renal artery (mRA) 19.35%. The diameter of single renal arteries, with either prehilar or hilar branching, was significantly larger than when multiple arteries were present. A detailed analysis of just the mRA variant demonstrated that the diameter of the renal arteries in men was larger (p = 0.012) than those in women and that there was no difference in diameter with regard to the side of the body (p = 0.219).
Conclusions
The classification described in our study containing a detailed description of renal artery diameter. It may be helpful in clinical practice, especially for transplantologists, surgeons, and vascular surgeons.
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