[Arterial stenosis in transplanted kidneys. 86 surgically treated cases]

Eighty-six patients who had undergone renal transplantation three months to five years before, were operated on for a stenosis of the artery supplying the grafted kidney. The diagnosis was made by angiography performed because of refractory hypertension with or without impaired renal function. Surgical repair of the stenosis cured or improved arterial hypertension in 48 patients and improved renal function in 17 of 29 with impaired renal function. Different types of stenosis were recognized: stenosis of the recipient artery, stenosis of the suture line, stenosis of the donor renal artery (segmental or diffuse) and multiple stenoses. The most frequent site of stenosis was the donor artery. There seems to be no single cause of stenosis: atheroma of the recipient vessels, trauma to donor or recipient arteries, faulty suture techniques, hemodynamic disturbances account for some cases whereas in other cases the evidence points to an immune mechanism. This complication of renal transplantation appears now as the most frequent one; therefore, routine vascular investigations should be performed at repeated intervals in all transplanted patients. Surgical repair is indicated in tight stenoses with impending thrombosis and in stenoses responsible for severe hypertension which does not respond to anti-hypertensive treatment. The other patients with mild to moderate hypertension responding to medical treatment, without renal function impairment, and with moderate stenosis can be managed medically. In our experience, surgical correction of the stenosis is indicated approximately in one half of the patients in whom a stenosis has been discovered.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)