The outcome of living related kidney transplantation with multiple renal arteries

Abstract

The aim of our study was to compare the surgical complications and short-term outcome of renal transplants with single and multiple renal artery grafts. We reviewed the records of 105 kidney transplantations performed consecutively at our institution from July 2006 to May 2010. The data of 33 (31.4%) renal transplants with multiple arteries were compared with the 72 transplants with single artery (68.6%), and the incidence of surgical complications, post-transplant hypertension, acute tubular necrosis, acute graft rejection, mean creatinine level, and patient and graft survival was analyzed. We further subdivided the study recipients into three groups: group A (n = 72) with one-renal-artery allografts and one-artery anastomosis, group B (n = 6) with multiple-artery allografts with single-artery anastomosis, and group C (n = 27) with multiple-artery allografts with multiple arterial anasatomosis, and compared their outcome. No significant differences were observed among the recipients of all the three groups regarding early vascular and urological complications, post-transplant hypertension, acute tubular necrosis, acute rejection, creatinine level, and graft and patient survival. The mean cold ischemia time in groups B and C was significantly higher (P <0.05). One patient in group A developed renal vein thrombosis resulting in graft nephrectomy. None of the patients with multiple renal arteries developed either vascular or urological complications. In conclusion, kidney transplantation using grafts with multiple renal arteries is equally safe as using grafts with single renal artery, regarding vascular, urological complications, as well as patient and graft survival.