Wünderlich Syndrome in Renal Transplant Recipients: A Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

Wünderlich syndrome, or spontaneous atraumatic renal hemorrhage, is a clinical entity rarely described in the native kidney of patients who have undergone renal transplant. Although its manifestation is quite similar in reported cases, it may present few symptoms, from bleeding of unidentified etiology to dramatic pictures associated with hypovolemic shock. There are few reports of spontaneous hemorrhage of a native kidney after kidney transplantation. We present a 38-year-old male patient who developed hemorrhage of a ruptured native kidney after a late renal transplantation. We analyze what has been reported in the literature and highlight the possibility of this complication after kidney transplantation. Imaging exams and surgical specimen demonstrated the presence of ruptured angiomyolipoma in the patient's native right kidney. The postoperative period was not complicated, with a benign clinical evolution. Although rare in patients who have undergone renal transplant, it is justified to suggest Wünderlich syndrome in the presence of acute flank pain, abdominal tenderness, and signs of internal bleeding (Lenk's triad), with unexplained hemoglobin drop.