Surgeons in Mexico removed a 52-year-old woman's right kidney after finding more than half a liter of blood collected around it. One of their reasons was that a tumor could not be ruled out before the operation. When pathologists examined the organ, they found no cancer. Instead, they saw an organized blood clot and signs of both older and newer injury to the kidney.
The case, published Sept. 20 in the Journal of Surgical Case Reports by doctors at Hospital General de Tlaxcala, describes Wünderlich syndrome, an uncommon but potentially life-threatening form of spontaneous bleeding from the kidney. MedicalDaily previously reported how her symptoms mimicked a gallbladder attack. The case also shows a hard choice surgeons face with these bleeds: whether a tumor can be excluded before surgery, or only after the kidney is gone.
