Background: Understanding of the renal vascular anatomy is key to a safe and successful donor nephrectomy, which ulti- mately impacts on the renal graft function and survival in kidney transplant recipients.
Objective: To report the various anatomical configurations of the renal artery identified in living kidney donors in a Nige- rian kidney transplant institution .
Materials and Methods: The computerized tomography angiograms of 100 consecutive living kidney donors were pro- spectively reviewed over an 18-month period. Anatomical variations of the renal arteries including accessory arteries and early divisions were noted. Duration of surgery and ischemic time were recorded intra-operatively. Data analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS version 20.
Results: There were variations in renal artery configuration in 50 (50%) cases, 32% were accessory renal arteries while 18% were early branches of the renal artery. The classical bilateral solitary renal arteries were found in 50 (50%) of potential do- nors. There was statistically significant longer operating and ischemic time in donors with multiple renal arteries as compared with solitary arteries (p<0.05).
Conclusion: There are a wide variety of renal artery configurations seen in potential kidney donors. The classical solitary renal artery remains the commonest and most favourable configuration for donor nephrectomy and transplantation.
Keywords: Renal artery; variations; living kidney donors.
The finding of bilateral congenital common iliac vein anomalies is indeed uncommon. This article presents the case of an 11-year-old boy with end-stage renal disease who had kidney transplantation (KT). At presentation, he was found to have a large superficial vein running from the left groin over the suprapubic area. The arterial pulsation of both lower limbs was preserved, and there was no pedal edema. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan revealed aplasia of the right common iliac vein, stenosis of the left common iliac vein, and marked dilatation of the left external and internal iliac veins. There were also varicosity of numerous pelvic veins and a collateral vein draining the right lower limb. This preoperative diagnosis was key to planning for surgery. On KT surgery, the renal allograft vein was anastomosed in an end-to-side fashion to the inferior vena cava and artery to the common iliac artery. The patient had a smooth postoperative recovery and continues to enjoy a normal renal function.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.