Idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis

OBJECTIVE: A case of idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis in a 34-year-old man with anemia and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate is presented. METHODS/RESULTS: Ultrasound, CT and MRI evaluation and pathological study were performed. These diagnostic imaging techniques demonstrated an infiltrating mass in the upper portion of the abdomen which was resected. Histological and immunohistochemical studies of the surgical specimen demonstrated sclerosing retroperitonitis. CONCLUSIONS: Idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis (Ormond's disease) is a rare disease entity whose etiology is obscure and is characterized by retroperitoneal fibrosis with inflammatory infiltrates composed of plasma cells, lymphocytes and eosinophils. This case is of interest due to its atypical location, and because the patient was young with no remarkable clinical history and only mild anemia and an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate.