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Lateral displacement of the nipples and unilateral renal hypoplasia: another mammo‐renal syndrome? ⋆
Author(s) -
Urbani Carlo Enrico
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of the european academy of dermatology and venereology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.655
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1468-3083
pISSN - 0926-9959
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-3083.1995.tb00279.x
Subject(s) - medicine , hypoplasia , ectopic kidney , urinary system , kidney , renal pelvis , anatomy , radiology , urology
Background of study Polythelia is a cutaneous marker of congenital diseases of the kidneys. Lateral displacement of the nipples (e.g. laterally located to their respective midclavicular lines) is considered a further sign of renal disorders, particularly of bilateral renal hypoplasia, as reported by Fleisher in a detailed study on seven infants. Subject We observed a 45‐year‐old white man with his morphologically normal nipples displaced on the lateral aspects of the trunk without any other consistent clinical features such as accessory nipples or areolae, gonadal dysgenesis, face or car anomalies. Aims and methods In order to reveal congenital abnormalities of the kidneys and the urinary collecting systems the following investigations were undertaken: renal ultrasound, intravenous pyelography. abdomen CT and NMR scans, urethrocystography, transurethral cystoscopy, urinalysis, laboratory tests including karyotype, ECG and cardiovascular evaluation. Results Instrumental findings disclosed a hypoplastic left kidney in an ectopic site, located below the right kidney (cross type of renal ectopy) without any connection between their urinary‐ collecting systems. Complex malformations of the urinary tract such as an orthotopic narrow right ureteral orifice and ridge, a large‐sized diverticulum on the left wall of the bladder were also present. Moreover, a tumour on the upper pole of the right kidney, 20 mm in diameter, with a histological picture of renal‐cell carcinoma was detected. Conclusions A lateral displacement of the nipples is a clue for the presence of renal hypoplasia both bilateral and unilateral. The significance of this association is unclear and its occurrence is probably underestimated.