Endovascular management of blunt traumatic renal artery dissection

To describe the importance of accurate diagnosis and successful emergent endovascular repair of intimal injury to the renal artery from sudden deceleration.

A 22-year-old man was evaluated after jumping head first out of a fourth floor window. Gross hematuria was detected at the initial assessment. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) revealed diminished uptake in the right kidney. Arteriographic examination of the renal artery demonstrated 2 areas of intimal disruption, which a team of physicians decided to treat with angioplasty and stent placement owing to the associated intracranial injuries. Two balloon-expandable stents were successfully deployed to exclude the intimal defects. Once the associated injuries were also addressed, the patient made an uneventful recovery. CONCLUSIONS; Management of blunt traumatic injuries to the renal vasculature involves timely assessment to maximize preservation of renal function. In the setting of multiple concomitant injuries, recent experience supports the consideration of endoluminal intervention for traumatic renal artery dissections.