Endovascular treatment of transplanted renal artery stenosis with PTA/stenting

We evaluated the effectiveness of endovascular treatment with percutaneous transluminal balloon angioplasty (PTA)/stenting of transplanted renal artery stenosis (TRAS).

Between January 2005 and December 2010, 17 patients (4 women, 13 men; mean age 60.9 years) with TRAS underwent PTA/stenting. The parameters analysed were: technical success, pre- and post-treatment serum creatinine (SCr) and blood pressure (BP), average number of antihypertensive drugs administered before and after treatment and vessel patency on colour Doppler ultrasound (CDUS) at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months and once a year thereafter.

Technical success was 100%. During a mean follow-up of 28.3±18.7 months, there was a statistically significant reduction in SCr and BP values. In 18 % of cases, moderate (<60%) restenosis was observed on CDUS without renal failure and not requiring new treatment. There was a reduction in antihypertensive drugs from an average of 3.5±0.5 to 1.5±0.5.

Consistent with the literature data, our experience shows that endovascular treatment with PTA/stenting is a safe and effective option for managing TRAS and can thus be considered the method of choice.