A case of bilateral renal
angiomyolipoma without
tuberous sclerosis is reported. A 49-year-old woman was admitted to the general practitioner with a sudden onset of severe
left flank pain. An excretory urogram and ultrasonogram revealed an enlargement of the left kidney. She was subsequently referred to our clinic for further investigation and treatment. Computed tomographic scan and magnetic resonance imaging using Tl-weighted image showed several
tumors with a fatty, dense area in the bilateral kidney. An arteriogram demonstrated a hypervascular renal mass with
aneurysms in her left kidney. Diagnosis of bilateral renal
angiomyolipoma was confirmed by percutaneous needle biopsy. Superselective embolization of the
tumor was successfully performed, preserving normal renal tissue.
Gelatin sponges containing
Carboquone (CQ sponge) were used as embolic material.
Angiomyolipoma has become relatively easy to diagnose by CT, ultrasound, MRI and so on. However, there are some cases of
angiomyolipoma which are indistinguishable from
renal cell carcinoma using these modes of testing. Therefore, in selecting a
conservative management, we indicated that percutaneous biopsy or open biopsy should be done to confirm the results of the above procedures. Moreover,
therapeutic embolization for
angiomyolipoma was concluded to be very useful.