Allergy Asthma Respir Dis.  2025 Apr;13(2):75-79. 10.4168/aard.2025.13.2.75.

A case of intrathoracic ectopic kidney presenting with congenital diaphragmatic hernia

• Park K
• Song J
• Shin S
• Yoo SY
• Seo JM
• Kim J
• Ahn K
• Jang S

• KMID: 2567728
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4168/aard.2025.13.2.75

Abstract

Ectopic kidney is a rare congenital anomaly which occurs in approximately 1 in 1,000 live births. Intrathoracic kidney is the rarest type of the ectopic kidney, which constitutes < 5% of all ectopic kidney cases. It is often associated with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, which can cause severe respiratory distress. However, most patients with intrathoracic kidney are asymptomatic, and incidentally diagnosed with prenatal ultrasonography or chest radiography after birth as intrathoracic mass-like lesion. In this study, we report a case of an asymptomatic neonate with intrathoracic kidney. An intrathoracic mass was detected in plain chest radiography of a 17-day-old boy, and it was identified as the right kidney in the thoracic cavity by computed tomography and ultrasonography. Correction of the ectopic kidney and repair of diaphragmatic hernia were successful at the age of 52 days. After the operation, the right kidney was normally detected in the right renal fossa, and there was no recurrence of diaphragmatic hernia. To the best of our knowledge, the present case is the only reported case of intrathoracic kidney at the neonatal period, in South Korea. Careful review of chest radiography at the neonatal period and clinical suspicion of rare diseases like herniation of intraabdominal organ are needed.

Keyword

Mass chest x-ray; Congenital diaphragmatic hernias; Kidney; Newborn infant