The treatment of deep vein thrombosis immediately after kidney transplantation: a case report

Endovenous Iliocaval Revascularization for Transplant Kidney Salvage

PURPOSE

We report the case of a venous iliocaval recanalization to preserve a transplant kidney.

CASE REPORT

A young patient with a nephrotic syndrome caused by focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) underwent a robot-assisted living-donor kidney transplant. The postoperative course was uneventful; serum creatinine at discharge was 1.51 mg/dL (normal range = 0.72-1.17 mg/dL). In the course of the following months, the patient was readmitted repeatedly due to acute kidney failure not related to rejection, recurrent FSGS, or anastomotic stenosis. All episodes started after prolonged standing and renal function improved after bed rest. Several hospital admissions and investigations later, phlebography revealed an occlusion of the inferior vena cava (IVC) and both common iliac veins with large collateral vessels through the azygos system. An endovenous recanalization of the iliocaval tract was performed, with subsequent normalization of transplant kidney function.

CONCLUSION

Vascular complications after renal transplantation are an important cause of graft loss. We present an endovenous treatment option for a chronic occlusion of the IVC and common iliac vein with intermittent venous congestion as a cause of transplant failure.

Iliofemoral deep venous thrombosis in kidney transplant patients can cause graft dysfunction

We present a series of kidney transplant dysfunction secondary to lower extremity deep venous thrombosis (DVT). A 70-year-old man underwent living unrelated kidney transplantation and presented 2 months postoperatively with acute kidney injury (AKI) secondary to external iliac vein thrombosis. Graft function improved after endovascular intervention. A 43-year-old man underwent living unrelated kidney transplantation and presented 3 years postoperatively with AKI secondary to external iliac vein thrombosis. Graft function recovered after thrombolysis. A 42-year-old woman underwent simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation. Four weeks postoperatively, she had AKI secondary to common femoral vein DVT. Her graft function improved after common iliac vein stenting. A 67-year-old man underwent living unrelated kidney transplantation and presented a week later with lower extremity DVT and AKI. His graft function improved with anticoagulation. Iliofemoral DVT can cause allograft dysfunction. The cause may be multifactorial. Endovascular intervention is safe and feasible when anticoagulation fails.