Papers of the Week

Nutcracker syndrome (NCS) belongs to a group of rare vascular disorders. It refers to compression of the left renal vein (LRV) generally between the abdominal aorta (AA) and the superior mesenteric artery (SMA). It is one of the most unknown causes of chronic abdominal pain. Herein, we present the case of a young patient who came to the emergency department for acute abdominal pain. Patient's history revealed an uncharacterized chronic epigastric pain evolving for 13 years. The imaging showed acute appendicitis and NCS; the latter finding was the principal explanation for the patient's chronic pain. We hope that the concise and synthetized structure of this case report will help physicians acquire the necessary reflexes to notice and diagnose this already underdiagnosed syndrome.