Renal vascular variants in living related renal donors: evaluation with CT angiography

Renal vascular variants may complicate the surgical techniques of living related renal transplantation. Renal computed tomographic (CT) angiography is now well accepted for preoperative renal vascular mapping in living related renal donors.

To study the prevalence of renal vascular variants in living related renal donors using CT angiography.

Preoperative renal CT angiography of 65 consecutive living related renal donors were retrospectively reviewed by two abdominal radiologists on a 3-D workstation. The number and branching patterns of bilateral renal arteries and veins, as well as the presence of renal arterial and venous variants were described.

Supernumerary renal arteries and early branching were present in 18.5% and 12.8% respectively on the right kidneys and 27.7% and 22.4% respectively on the left kidneys. The prevalence of precaval right renal artery was 4.6%. Supernumerary renal veins were present in 35.4% and 1.5% on the right and left kidneys, respectively. Late confluences of left renal veins were identified in 1.5% of left kidneys. Other venous anomalies included 1.5% duplicated inferior vena cava (IVC), 1.5% circumaortic left renal vein, 1.5% retroaortic left renal vein, 1.5% outsized left gonadal veins drained into the left renal vein, and 6.2% right gonadal vein drained into the right renal vein.

Renal vascular anatomical variants were common. The surgeons and the radiologists should be aware of these variants to prevent postoperative complications.