Congenital giant hydronephrosis in adults.

Giant hydronephrosis is the term designating the presence of more than 1,000 ml. of fluid in the collecting system. Of 4 cases of congenital hydronephrosis found over a three-year period at the Ochsner Medical Institutions, 2 were associated with unsuspected carcinomas. Hydronephrosis may first be detected as a mass palpable in the abdomen and displacing the intestines on gastrointestinal films. Excretory urography, retrograde pyelography, and angiography confirm the diagnosis. The treatment of choice is nephrectomy.