No abstract

Small bowel obstruction (SBO) is associated with high morbidity and mortality in acute care surgery practice, with hernias constituting a significant portion of the underlying etiology. Physical examination and maneuvers such as changing the extremity position of the patient can further improve clinician's diagnostic acumen to identify the cause of the disease. We present a case of SBO in an 83-year-old female whose physical exam was consistent with an underlying obturator hernia.

No abstract

Accessory renal arteries (ARAs) are embryonic remnants found in more than one-third of patients and occurring bilaterally in 10% of the population. Very few reports have documented such vessels arising near or at the level of the aortic bifurcation. Furthermore, the presence of ARAs has yet to be described in the context of atherosclerotic disease. Here, we present a unique case of large bilateral ARAs originating above the aortic bifurcation concurrent with symptomatic aortoiliac atherosclerotic disease. We highlight the embryologic and clinical significance of these vessels as well as discuss their potential role in accelerating atherosclerotic disease processes.