Idiopathic Retroperitoneal Fibrosis Presented As Urinary Tract Obstruction

Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) or Ormond’s disease is a very uncommon fibro-inflammatory disease, under the umbrella of systemic autoimmune diseases. The majority of cases are idiopathic, known as idiopathic RPF (IRPF); however, diseases secondary to other causes are also seen in clinical practice. The commonest presenting features are seen due to the effects of fibrous tissue around iliac vessels, aorta and ureters, where compression of ureters is the major and most common complication. Computed tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are the modalities of choice for the diagnosis. The primary management involves medical therapy with corticosteroids and reserving surgical options for ureteric obstruction and related complications. We present a case of a 65-year-old man who presented with bilateral pedal oedema, facial puffiness, decreased appetite, decreased urine output, and breathlessness with dry cough, tachypnoea, hypoxia and crepitation in both lung fields on examination. The blood investigations were suggestive of acute kidney injury (AKI); whereas radio imaging diagnosed him as a case of bilateral hydroureteronephrosis with RPF. The patient was treated for AKI in the case of IRPF. Once the patient stabilized, a low-dose systemic steroid was started for IRPF, and subsequently, the patient underwent stent placement surgery for ureteric obstruction. RPF, being a rare disease, is difficult to diagnose. However, CT and MRI scanning can easily reveal fibrous tissue surrounding the aorta and ureters. Medical management with glucocorticoids is the backbone drug for the disease, keeping surgery as a reserved option for ureteric obstruction and its complications.