Bilateral obstruction of bilaterally duplicated collecting systems requiring upper and lower moiety drainage

A 60-year-old woman with a history of breast cancer presented with bilateral obstruction of bilaterally duplicated renal collecting systems secondary to extrinsic compression from metastatic pelvic lymphadenopathy. Bilateral JJ ureteric stents were inserted, resulting in some improvement of renal function but a failure to normalise completely. Repeat computed tomography demonstrated bilateral duplex collecting systems with persisting obstruction of the undrained moieties. Selective puncture was performed to decompress the obstructed renal moieties for bilateral nephrostomy catheter insertion. This allowed renal function to improve sufficiently for the patient to be discharged and commence chemotherapy. This is the first reported case of bilaterally obstructed partially duplicated collecting systems and it illustrates the importance of recognising anatomical variants to tailor treatment appropriately. It also highlights the important relationship between urology and interventional radiology in the management of such complex patients.