What does retroperitoneal fibrosis mean?
Retroperitoneal fibrosis is a disorder in which inflammation and extensive scar tissue (fibrosis) occur in the back of the abdominal cavity, behind (retro-) the membrane that surrounds the organs of the digestive system (the peritoneum). This area is known as the retroperitoneal space.
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Is retroperitoneal fibrosis serious?

Retroperitoneal fibrosis (Ormond’s disease) occurs when scar-like tissue develops in the retroperitoneum. The condition can affect your urinary system, kidneys and more. It can cause life-threatening complications.
How long can you live with retroperitoneal fibrosis?
Malignant retroperitoneal fibrosis is associated with poor prognosis, and most patients have an average survival of approximately 3-6 months. Idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis carries a good prognosis, with little effect on long-term morbidity or mortality.
What does retroperitoneal fibrosis feel like?
The most common symptom of retroperitoneal fibrosis is pain in the lower back or abdomen. In many cases this pain is dull, vague and difficult to localize. Additional symptoms may be weight loss, fever, nausea, a low level of circulating red blood cells (anemia), and loss of appetite.

What drugs can cause retroperitoneal fibrosis?
The particular incidence, in the last four decades past century, of the RPF due to long-term use of ergot alkaloid derivatives (ergotamine, methysergide, pergolide, bromocriptine, cabergoline) and specific L-dopa derived agents, such as methyldopa, as well as to different analgesics, came progressively down given that …
Is retroperitoneal fibrosis a disability?
Service connection is in effect for retroperitoneal fibrosis, rated as 30 percent disabling; and for tinnitus, rated as 10 percent disabling; for a combined rating of 40 percent.
How long can you live with fibrosis?
When you do your research, you may see average survival is between three to five years. This number is an average. There are patients who live less than three years after diagnosis, and others who live much longer.
Does fibrosis shorten life?
While there is no cure yet for cystic fibrosis (CF), people with CF are living longer, healthier lives than ever before. In fact, babies born with CF today are expected to live into their mid-40s and beyond. Life expectancy has improved so dramatically that there are now more adults with cystic fibrosis than children.
Can retroperitoneal fibrosis be cured?
Most cases of retroperitoneal fibrosis heal well. However, even after treatment, you should get checked for the condition on a regular basis. Retroperitoneal fibrosis has been seen to recur in some cases, even years after treatment. Ureter obstruction may recur in about half of all the people who had surgery.
How do you get retroperitoneal fibrosis?
Risk factors for Retroperitoneal fibrosis include asbestos exposure, smoking, tumor, infection, trauma, radiotherapy, surgery, and use of certain drugs.
What are the early signs of fibrosis?
Symptoms
- Shortness of breath (dyspnea)
- A dry cough.
- Fatigue.
- Unexplained weight loss.
- Aching muscles and joints.
- Widening and rounding of the tips of the fingers or toes (clubbing)
What does retroperitoneal mean?
The retroperitoneum is an anatomical space located behind the abdominal or peritoneal cavity. Abdominal organs that are not suspended by the mesentery and lie between the abdominal wall and parietal peritoneum are said to lie within the retroperitoneum.
Can you live 20 years with fibrosis?
The average life expectancy of patients with pulmonary fibrosis is three to five years after diagnosis. However, early detection of the disease is key to slowing progression, and conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) can impact disease prognosis.
How many stages are there in fibrosis?
While there are not formal categories of IPF, doctors and patients sometimes think of IPF in four different stages depending on symptoms and treatment needs.
How long can you survive with fibrosis?
What are the 4 retroperitoneal organs?
The primary retroperitoneal structures are the adrenal glands, kidneys, ureters, inferior vena cava, and the rectum.
Which organ is the retroperitoneal organ?
The retroperitoneal space contains the kidneys, adrenal glands, pancreas, nerve roots, lymph nodes, abdominal aorta, and inferior vena cava.
What is the longest someone has lived with fibrosis?
At 86, Marlene Pryson may be one of the oldest individuals living with cystic fibrosis.
What stage is severe fibrosis?
There are five stages (F0: no scarring (no fibrosis); F1: minimal scarring; F2: scarring has occurred and extends outside the liver area (significant fibrosis); F3: fibrosis spreading and forming bridges with other fibrotic liver areas (severe fibrosis); F4: cirrhosis or advanced scarring).
What does it mean when organs are retroperitoneal?
(REH-troh-PAYR-ih-toh-NEE-ul) Having to do with the area outside or behind the peritoneum (the tissue that lines the abdominal wall and covers most of the organs in the abdomen).
Why are kidney called retroperitoneal?
The kidneys are considered “retroperitoneal” organs, which means they sit behind a lining in the abdominal cavity, unlike all other abdominal organs.
Can you live a long life with fibrosis?
A diagnosis of PF can be very scary. When you do your research, you may see average survival is between three to five years. This number is an average. There are patients who live less than three years after diagnosis, and others who live much longer.
How long can you live with severe fibrosis?
How long do people with fibrosis live?
Based on 2019 Registry data, the life expectancy of people with CF who are born between 2015 and 2019 is predicted to be 46 years. Data also show that of the babies who are born in 2019, half are predicted to live to be 48 years or older.
What organ is located in a retroperitoneal position?
The retroperitoneal space is bounded by the posterior parietal peritoneum anteriorly and the lumbar spine posteriorly. The retroperitoneal space contains the kidneys, adrenal glands, pancreas, nerve roots, lymph nodes, abdominal aorta, and inferior vena cava.