Ormond disease: an old disease with a new name

John Ormond is credited with the first description of idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis (RF) in the English literature. Seventeen years later, he speculated correctly that the disease was systemic and was in the same group of diseases as lupus, scleroderma and periarteritis. Presently, idiopathic RF is considered part of a recently defined group of diseases known as IgG4 related diseases. The disease is generally treated medically but surgery can be required if there is ureteric obstruction.