Computed Tomography Angiographic Evaluation of Anatomical Variations of Renal Arteries at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano-Nigeria

Background: Knowledge of renal arteries anatomical variations is important for different laparoscopic surgeries, kidney transplantation, oncologic resections and radiological interventional procedures in the abdomen. Aim and Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of anatomical variations of renal arteries using C.T. angiograms at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, to associate the variations with gender and ethnicity and to compare the results with the available findings in the literature. Materials and Method: The computed tomographic renal angiograms of 378 subjects comprising 204 males (54%) and 174 females (46%) with a M: F ratio of 1.2:1 were prospectively obtained from November, 2018 to August, 2019 at the Radiology Department of AKTH. They were then analyzed using SPSS software version 22.0 for the presence of potential anatomical variations. Results: Among the 378 subjects studied, 246 (65.1%) had normal renal artery supply while there were anatomical variations of the renal arteries in 132 (34.9%) subjects but no side preponderance was observed. Early branching of the renal artery was observed in 47 (12.4%) subjects while the presence of at least one accessory renal artery was observed in 85 (22.5%) subjects. The most frequently observed renal anomaly in this study was accessory hilar artery found in 40 kidneys (5.3%). Bilateral renal vasculature variation was detected in 8 (2.1%) subjects. The variations were more frequently seen in males (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The study showed significant prevalence of anatomical variations of renal arteries (34.9%).