Careful approach for ureteronephrectomy in a dog with hydronephrosis causing dense adhesion

Abstract

Unilateral ureteronephrectomy was performed in a dog presented with unilateral hydroureter and hydronephrosis. On laparotomy, severe adhesion of the dorsomedial border of the affected kidney to the abdominal aorta longitudinally and caudal pole of the kidney firmly to the ipsilateral ovary were observed. Since it was not possible to ligate the renal artery and vein separately due to severe adhesion tissue, two mass ligations were applied in the medial border of kidney, and the adhesion tissue was transected distal to each ligature. Then, blunt and sharp dissections were performed to isolate dorsomedial border of the kidney from the abdominal aorta, but they brought out unexpected hemorrhage caused by incision of renal artery and it has been suspected that two mass ligations could not include renal artery, which was adhered to dorsomedial border of the kidney. The hemorrhage was controlled by double ligations and electrocautery. In this case report, we recommend that if isolation of renal vessels is impossible due to strict adhesion of kidney to adjacent tissue, the mass ligation could be chosen to isolate and exteriorize the kidney and placed carefully not only at medial border of the kidney, where the renal vessels come into the kidney anatomically but also additional border of the kidney where adhesion tissues are formed.