Must we still be worried about multiple arteries in kidney transplantation?

Multiple renal arteries in kidney grafts have been associated with an increased rate of vascular and urologic complications. Our objective is to compare the outcome of transplanted patients who receive a single pedicle kidney with those who receive a multiple arterial graft.

To find our the differences in the outcome and complications in patients undergoing kidney transplantation with one single artery or with multiple arteries.

We analyzed 147 kidney transplantations, (all performed in our hospital over a 3 year period). population divided into two groups: group A for those who presented with only one renal artery, or group B for those with more than one renal artery. Homogeneous vascular reconstructions and implantation rules were applied in all patients. We compared the rates of renal failure between the two groups, urinary and vascular complications, patient and graft survivals and the levels of creatinine clearance during the first year of post-transplantation.

No significant differences were found between the two groups regarding to the values analyzed.

As many other authors, we do believe that the presence of multiple renal arteries in kidney grafts should not be considered as a predictive factor of transplantation failure.