Surgical Complications After Kidney Transplantation

Area of Science:

• Nephrology
• Transplant Surgery
• Urology

Background:

• Kidney transplantation is the optimal treatment for end-stage kidney disease.
• Postoperative complications occur in 5-25% of kidney transplant recipients.
• Identifying risk factors for surgical complications is crucial for improving patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify independent risk factors for surgical complications after kidney transplantation.
• To analyze the incidence and types of surgical complications in a large cohort.
• To evaluate the impact of baseline characteristics and specific factors on complication development.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 283 kidney transplant recipients from 2013-2023.
• Data collection included recipient demographics, donor type, induction therapy, diabetes mellitus, and BK positivity.
• Cox proportional-hazard regression was used to identify independent risk factors for surgical complications (bleeding, lymphocele, ureteral stenosis).

Main Results:

• Surgical complications occurred in 15.8% of patients (n=45).
• Ureteral stenosis was the most frequent complication (60%).
• Multivariate analysis revealed no independent risk factors among the studied parameters for surgical complications.

Conclusions:

• Kidney transplantation improves survival and quality of life for end-stage kidney disease patients.
• Surgical complications, particularly urological, vascular, and parietal, remain a challenge.
• Further research is needed to identify modifiable factors to minimize surgical complications and enhance post-transplant outcomes.