Acute renal artery thrombosis following blunt trauma

Forty-one cases of renal artery thrombosis following blunt trauma have been reported previously. Most injuries resulted from acute deceleration, and the left kidney was involved more frequently than the right kidney. An additional case, a nineteen-year-old victim of a motorcycle accident, had immediate surgery following an early diagnosis. Although the kidney was viable, arterial repair was unsuccessful, and a nephrectomy was performed. Following blunt trauma, patients with microhematuria should have an immediate excretory urogram and retrograde cystogram. With nonvisualization of the kidney, arteriography is necessary to establish the diagnosis. Prompt operation is mandatory if the kidney is to be saved.