Renal revascularisation in 36 patients with chronic total occlusion of the renal artery

From 1972 to 1982 36 patients with totally occluded renal arteries were operated on. Contralateral stenosis existed in 11 patients, in five of whom a bilateral operative procedure and in three of whom an additional intraluminal dilatation was performed. A revascularisation of the occluded artery was performed in 33 and a primary nephrectomy in three patients. Hospital mortality was 14 per cent, the causes of death being cardiac or cerebral complications. In spite of cure or improvement of hypertension in 75 per cent of all patients and improvement or stabilisation of pre-operative azotaemia in 11 patients, the significant postoperative mortality indicates the difficult problem of proper selection of patients for operation.