Spontaneous rupture of renal allograft: an uncommon complication with an uncommon cause

Renal allograft rupture is defined as a renal laceration, which involves two or more surfaces of the graft and extends beyond renal capsule with or without involvement of the collecting system. Acute and hyperacute rejections are the causes in most of the cases. Non-rejection aetiologies of graft rupture include acute tubular necrosis, renal vein thrombosis, ureteric obstruction, polyarteritis nodosa, ischaemia, hypertension and biopsy. Early detection of these causes is of prime importance for graft salvage. Here we report an uncommon case of spontaneous renal allograft rupture due to intrarenal ischaemia leading to infarction and hypertensive crisis.