title: Relationship between colon and kidney: a critical point for percutaneous procedures.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of anatomical variations of the colon associated with the kidney.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis was performed on 1000 consecutive abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans performed between July 2010 and September 2011. A line parallel to the horizontal plane was drawn through the posterior edge of each kidney at three renal levels: upper, middle and lower pole. The bowel between the psoas muscle and the kidney was determined as the interposition of the colon. The amount of perinephric fat was estimated and graded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total number of patients undergoing CT scans was 1000 (male/female = 510/490). The mean age of patients was 42.2 years. Seventeen patients (1.7%) had retrorenal colon, of which 12 (1.2%) were on the left side, three (0.3%) on the right side and two (0.2%) were bilateral. Of these 17 cases, 11 were found at the lower, two at the middle and four at the upper pole of the kidney. There was grade I perirenal fat tissue in 13 and grade II in four cases. Interposition of the colon was detected in 32 (3.2%) patients, 30 (3%) on the right and two (0.2%) on the left. The grade of perirenal fat tissue in patients with colon interposition was as follows: 25 patients grade I, six patients grade II and one patient grade III.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In accessing the lower pole of the kidney, especially on the left side, the risk of colonic injury should be taken into consideration during percutaneous procedures, regardless of the patient's age and gender.
authors: Department of Urology, Dicle University School of Medicine, 21280, Diyarbakir, Turkey. atarsmail@yahoo.com
authors: Murat
authors: M
authors: Atar
authors: Namik Kemal
authors: NK
authors: Hatipoglu
authors: Haluk
authors: H
authors: Soylemez
authors: Necmettin
authors: N
authors: Penbegul
authors: Yasar
authors: Y
authors: Bozkurt
authors: Hatice
authors: H
authors: Gumus
authors: Ahmet Ali
authors: AA
authors: Sancaktutar
authors: Suzan
authors: S
authors: Kuday
authors: Mehmet Nuri
authors: MN
authors: Bodakci
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003106:Colon / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009403:Nephrostomy, Percutaneous / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult