Isolated dissecting aneurysm of the renal artery.

We report two cases of an unusual cause of the acute onset of hypertension, a spontaneous dissecting aneurysm localized to the renal artery. Also reviewed are 16 reported cases from the literature. The mean age of the 18 patients was 52 years. The majority of these patients were males (78%). Hypertension was a presenting sign in 14 (78%), but was not usually a pre-existing feature. Loin pain, often severe, occurred in eleven patients (61%), whereas gross hematuria was recorded only in two (11%). The right renal artery was involved in ten cases (55%), the left in three (17%), and both in five cases (28%). Atherosclerosis of the renal arteries and the aorta was absent in 69%, and mild in 23%. There has been no report of renal artery rupture; however, vascular occlusion occurs frequently. Medical and surgical approaches to the management of this phenomenon have been reported and are reviewed.