When urine is no longer beneficial: renal artery embolisation in severe nephrotic syndrome secondary to amyloidosis

Abstract

Renal artery embolisation (RAE) is an interventional radiology procedure which is used to embolise small branches of renal artery. It is mainly used for urologic purposes, i.e., vascular malformations, angiomyolipomas and renal tumours not amenable to surgical resection. Bilateral RAE can be performed via using absolute ethanol, polyvinyl alcohol or microparticles. After RAE, patients may experience post-embolisation syndrome which is usually self-limited. Use of this procedure for refractory nephrotic syndrome has been rarely defined in the literature to date. Here, we describe a patient who had nephrotic syndrome due to secondary systemic amyloidosis. The patient presented with severe proteinuria (33 g per day), hypoalbuminaemia and anasarca oedema. We applied bilateral RAE with microparticles. We did not observe any complications associated with the procedure. Protein excretion, laboratory values and clinical signs returned to normal.