Retroperitoneal Laparoscopic Surgery for Retrocaval Ureter: A case Series

Background: Retrocaval ureter also referred to as circumcaval ureter or preureteral venacava is a rare congenital anomaly with the ureters passing posterior to the inferior vena cava (IVC). The ureter classically course medially behind the inferior venacava winding around it and then passes laterally in front of it to then course distally to the bladder. Though it is a congenital anomaly, patients do not normally present with symptoms until the 3rd and 4th decades of life from a resulting hydronephrosis. This hydronephrosis may be due to kinking of the ureter. The ureteric segment is a dynamic or compression against the psoas muscle. It was initially considered as aberration in ureteric development; however current studies in embryology have led to it being considered as an aberration in the development of the inferior vena cava