Abstract

SAAVEDRA RAMIREZ, Publio Giovanni; ARANGO BARRIENTOS, Marcos  and  GONZALEZ NARANJO, Luis Alonso. Retroperitoneal fibrosis: a medical enigma. Rev.Colomb.Reumatol. [online]. 2009, vol.16, n.4, pp.361-373. ISSN 0121-8123.

Retroperitoneal fibrosis is an uncommon disease of unclear cause. It was described for the first time in English literature by Ormond, in 1948. However, the first known description of this disease was done by the French urologist Albarran, around 1905. It is characterized by chronic nonspecific inflammation of the retroperitoneum that can entrap and obstruct retroperitoneal structures, notably the urethers. This disease frequently is detected only after severe renal failure is present. However, advances in imaging techniques and increased awareness of the disease have resulted in an earlier diagnosis in unobstructed patients. As a result of the observations that showed that the only difference between an inflammatory aneurysm of the abdominal aorta and Ormond's disease is the diameter of the vessel, it had been suggested that both syndromes represent variations of the same pathology, which has been named "chronic periaortitis".

Keywords : idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis; Ormond's disease; Ureteral obstruction; chronic periaortitis.

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