[Transplantation of the kidney with numerous arteries from a living relative-donor]

Among 99 operations for transplantation of a kidney from a living kindred donor 6 were carried out with the use of kidneys which had many arteries. Five patients received a kidney with 2 arteries, and one patient, a kidney with 3 arteries. The donors were: a mother (1), a father (2), a sister (2), a brother (1). The left kidney was transplanted in all cases. In 5 patients kidney implantation was preceded by extracorporeal reconstruction on the arteries of the kidney (accessory arteries were anastomosed end-to-side with the main trunk of the renal artery) carried out under conditions of cold storage. In one female patient first the kidney was implanted by the standard method whereas the artery of the lower pole was anastomosed end-to-end with the inferior epigastric artery by means of microsurgical techniques. The transplants functioned well from the first day after the operation in all patients. In one patient the transplant was rejected 2 years and 7 months after the operation. The others function satisfactorily. The longest follow-up period is 5 years and 8 months, the shortest, 9 months. It is concluded that transplantation of a kidney with numerous arteries from a living kindred donor is an effective method for the treatment of patients suffering from the terminal stage of chronic renal insufficiency.