[Kidney transplant in children. Our experience]

We report on our experience comprised of 21 kidney transplant procedures (20 from cadavers and 1 from a living donor) performed at the Urology Department of our hospital. Of these, 11 remained functional 2 years following transplantation. Of the 10 transplants that failed, 3 were due to arterial thrombosis, 1 from venous thrombosis, 2 from late rejection, 1 from septic necrosis of the vascular suture area, and 1 because the arterial intima had been "swept away" by transluminal dilatation. We underscore the high incidence (33%) of arterial hypertension in these children submitted to renal transplantation and the good response to treatment with hypertensive agents and/or transluminal dilatation. We emphasize the usefulness of duplex-Doppler ultrasonography in evaluating arterial blood flow and in the diagnosis of arterial stenoses. The surgical techniques, complications, and evolution of transplanted kidney function are discussed.