Renal transplants in children: long-term follow-up using sonography

Sonographic findings more than 1 year after transplantation for 16 children with renal transplants were reviewed to determine the appearance of the transplant on long-term follow-up and to correlate its sonographic appearance with its function. The appearance of the transplant varied considerably, and there was no association between renal function and renal volume, shape, parenchymal echogenicity, or central sinus echoes. Renal size and donor age were negatively associated. In children, a change in renal size greater than the usual 90%-130% of baseline volume seen in adults is a normal adaptation of the transplanted kidney to the recipient body size. Sonography was not useful for diagnosing chronic rejection or predicting function in the pediatric transplant patient.