Increased kidney size following renal angioplasty. A 'new' observation

Percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty was performed in nine patients (10 kidneys). Immediately following dilatation of the renal artery stenosis, seven of ten kidneys increased in length by at least 0.5 cm (0.5-1.5 cm) indicating improved renal perfusion. This is an observation that does not seem to have been described before. Another, but rare, cause of renal enlargement following angioplasty is hematoma formation which was seen in one of the cases. All of the patients responded well to the treatment and five previously hypertensive patients became normotensive shortly after dilatation.