Renal angiomyolipoma combined with pulmonary fat embolism: A case report

Shengwen Chen¹Yanqin Lai²Youming Kong³Rongzhang Liang^4*Xingbin Yu¹

• ¹Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Longyan First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Longyan, China
• ²Department of Radiology, Longyan First Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University, Longyan, Fujian Province, China
• ³Department of Pathology, Longyan People's Hospital, Longyan, China
• ⁴Longyan First Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University, Longyan, China

Background: Renal angiomyolipoma is an infrequent benign kidney tumor. Its association with inferior vena cava tumor embolism is rare, and the combination with pulmonary artery tumor embolism is even more exceptional. Case presentation: We report a case of a 43-year-old man with no past medical history, presented for a follow-up due to "shortness of breath after activity for 1 month.". The diagnosis of renal angiomyolipoma combined with pulmonary fat embolism was confirmed by imaging and surgical pathology. The patient underwent successful treatment through radical right nephrectomy and pulmonary artery thrombolysis following the preoperative placement of an inferior vena cava filter, resulting in a promising prognosis. Conclusions: This case report aimed to present an instance where the optimal timing of surgery was overlooked after the detection of renal angiomyolipoma complicated by inferior vena cava fat embolism, subsequently leading to a more severe complication, namely pulmonary artery embolism. Despite these challenges, a favorable prognosis was ultimately achieved through surgical intervention. It is noteworthy that an inferior vena cava filter should be implanted before surgical treatment to avoid more serious complications.