Gonadal Vein Graft for Maintaining Renal Circulation After a Complication During Para-Aortic Nodal Dissection: A Case Report

Excerpt

Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection has been a part of surgery in gynaecological malignancies. However, its role in many cases has become controversial. Systematic para-aortic node dissection has been defined as “complete removal of all fat and nodal tissues surrounding the aorta, inferior venacava (IVC) and renal vessels from the crossing of left renal vein (LRV) cranially to the midpoint of the common iliac vessels caudally” [1]. The removal of these lymph nodes needs expertise as there is a danger of the major vessel injury during the surgery. We would like to report a case in which there was an accidental injury to the left renal vein during para-aortic node dissection which had led to the decision for nephrectomy but presence of left gonadal vein helped restore the normal function of an important organ of our body, i.e. kidney. This method of renal vein transposition has since been employed by others with satisfactory results in nutcracker syndrome; however, such method using gonadal vein has not been reported yet. …