Successful strategies for renal transplantation in primary oxalosis

Eleven patients, aged 6 months to 47 years, with renal failure due to primary oxalosis, received renal allografts and were followed for 1 to 9 years. A specialized strategy for medical management included intensive pre-transplant hemodialysis and post-transplant long-term diuresis, administration of neutral phosphate, Mg++, and pyridoxine. Seven of ten living-related (LRD) transplants have good renal function, six with no biopsy evidence of renal oxalate deposition at up to 7 years after transplant. Two LRD graft losses from recurrent oxalosis, accompanied by massive secondary oxalate deposits, occurred in patients following endstage renal failure for over 3 years. A third LRD graft loss occurred following long-term (6 month) peritoneal dialysis in an infant. One cadaver transplant recipient has survived with recurrent oxalosis and poor graft function for 9 years. It is possible to perform successful renal transplantation in small children and adults with primary oxalosis and to completely prevent the deposition of oxalate in the renal allograft. Renal transplantation, with a strict medical protocol, would appear to be the initial treatment of choice for renal failure due to primary oxalosis.