Some urographic aspects of the horseshoe kidney anomaly-a review of 59 cases.

The urographic findings in 59 cases of horseshoe kidney are reviewed. Significant degrees of rotation are commoner and more pronounced in the left kidney in these cases than in the right kidney. This factor, rather than obliquity of the kidneys, is more likely to play a part in the development of upper urinary tract obstruction. Reversal of the normal direction of obliquity is not as common as is generally thought. The horseshoe kidney is, more often than not, mildly ectopic. Gross failure of ascent of the kidneys in the abdomen is uncommon. Evidence of pelvi-ureteric obstruction, especially hydronephrosis, occurred in just under half the cases. The reasons for this are discussed. The occurrence of other associated urinary tract anomalies, as well as acquired renal conditions, is considered.