Spontaneous dissections of the renal arteries in a patient with previous spontaneous dissections of the internal carotid arteries.

An otherwise healthy 35-year-old woman suffered spontaneous dissections of both internal carotid arteries. She made an excellent recovery but was left with occlusion of the left internal carotid artery and a residual subcranial dissecting aneurysm of the right artery--both were asymptomatic. Eight years later, spontaneous dissections of both renal arteries occurred. The exact nature of the underlying arterial disease is not clear. Although fibromuscular dysplasia is suspected, other undetermined arteriopathy cannot be excluded.