Anomalous Circumrenal Inferior Vena Cava Associated With Horseshoe Kidney

A 69-year-old male presented with periumbilical pain radiating across his abdomen, with associated nausea and emesis. CT imaging of his abdomen and pelvis revealed calculi in the right and left ureterovesical junctions with hydroureteronephrosis bilaterally. Furthermore, the imaging revealed that the patient had a horseshoe kidney with an associated anomalous inferior vena cava (IVC) that split superiorly to the horseshoe kidney at the L1 level and rejoined inferior to the horseshoe kidney at the L5 level. The IVC took on a "circumrenal" course, as it traversed the right kidney with an anterior and posterior portion. Furthermore, the patient's right ureter was compressed between the anterior portion of the IVC and the right kidney. We hypothesize that the development of the horseshoe kidney around the 7 to 8th week of gestation created a path of resistance for the forming of IVC around the same time. While surgical correction is not warranted, recognition of this circumrenal IVC variant could have major implications for planning of procedures, such as IVC filter placement.