What does Nutcracker Syndrome mean

Some people often find hematuria when they go to the toilet to urinate, but it is not particularly obvious. Later, when they go to the hospital for a physical examination, they find that they have Nutcracker Syndrome. So what exactly does Nutcracker Syndrome mean? Let's take a look together and find out whether Nutcracker Syndrome is a serious condition.

The nutcracker syndrome is the left renal vein compression syndrome, also known as the nutcracker phenomenon. It is common in males from adolescence to around 40 years old. The onset in children is between 4 and 7 years old, with the most common age being 13 to 16 years old.

The blood vessels in the human body are like roads that extend in all directions and have a certain direction. The left renal vein runs between the abdominal aorta and the superior mesenteric artery. These two arteries form an angle of 40 to 60 degrees, and the left renal vein just passes through this angle. From an anatomical point of view, the right renal vein flows directly into the inferior vena cava, with a short and straight course. The left renal vein needs to pass through the angle between the abdominal aorta and the superior mesenteric artery, and cross the front of the abdominal aorta before it can be injected into the inferior vena cava. Therefore, the left renal vein is much longer than the right renal vein. Under normal circumstances, the angle between the superior mesenteric artery and the abdominal aorta is filled with mesentery, fat, lymph nodes and peritoneum, so that the left renal vein is not compressed. When adolescence develops rapidly, height increases rapidly, the spine stretches excessively, body shape changes drastically, or the kidney ptosis occurs, the left renal vein will have a hard time in this angle and will be squeezed, causing blood flow changes and corresponding clinical symptoms.

The main symptoms of the nutcracker phenomenon are hematuria and proteinuria, among which asymptomatic macroscopic hematuria is easier to detect. The cause of hematuria is compression of the left renal vein leading to renal venous hypertension, congestion of the ureteral veins and genital veins drained by the dilated left renal vein, abnormal communication with the renal collecting system, or thinning and rupture of some venous walls, causing non-glomerular hematuria. Congestion of the testicular veins and ovarian veins may also occur, resulting in flank and abdominal pain, which worsens when standing or walking. In addition, men may also develop varicocele and left testicular pain; women mainly experience left lower abdominal pain. In addition, there are proteinuria, irregular menstrual bleeding, hypertension, etc. The diagnostic criteria for this disease are: bleeding in one kidney; non-glomerular morphology of red blood cells in urine; normal urinary calcium excretion; cystoscopic examination showing blood spurting from the left ureteral orifice or bloody urine; abdominal color ultrasound or CT examination showing dilation of the left renal vein, etc.

Through the above introduction, everyone should know what Nutcracker Syndrome means. If you find that you have blood in your urine when urinating or women often find pain in the lower left abdomen, you should be alert to see if you have Nutcracker Syndrome. If you do have Nutcracker Syndrome, you must actively seek treatment.