Indication, surgical technique and outcome of orthotopic renal transplantation.

PURPOSE: We review the indication, surgical technique and outcome of orthotopic renal transplantation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The medical records of 1,000 patients who underwent renal transplantation at our institution between August 24, 1993 and August 1, 2000, as well as orthotopic renal transplantation were reviewed. RESULTS: Orthotopic renal transplantation was performed in 4 males and 1 female with severe iliac atherosclerosis or retained bilateral iliac fossa kidney transplant. Mean patient age was 56 years. There were 2 patients who received kidneys from living related donors, and 3 underwent cadaveric renal transplantation. Left orthotopic renal transplantation was successful in 4 cases, and 1 was converted to iliac fossa renal transplant because of a pulseless splenic artery and renal artery thrombosis after native renal endarterectomy. Orthotopic renal revascularization was done with splenic artery in 2, native renal artery in 2 and left renal vein in all 4 patients. Urinary tract reconstruction was performed with stented (2) or nonstented (2) ureteroureterostomy. Antibody induction, purine antagonists, calcineurin inhibitors and glucocorticoids were used for immunosuppression. Mean preoperative and 1-month postoperative serum creatinine was 7.9 and 1.3 mg./dl., respectively. Patient and graft survival was 100% during followup, which ranged from 6 months to 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the technical challenges, orthotopic renal transplantation in patients with unsuitable pelvic vessels can result in excellent patient and graft survival.

Postoperative cystography is unnecessary following renal transplantation with parallel incision extravesical ureteroneocystostomy.

PURPOSE: To determine the need for postoperative cystography following extravesical ureteroneocystostomy for renal transplantation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The clinical courses of 200 consecutive kidney transplant recipients who underwent urinary tract reconstruction by parallel incision extravesical ureteroneocystostomy were reviewed. RESULTS: Five of the 200 recipients did not have the study because of early mortality (1) or medical problems (4). Grade I vesicoureteral reflux was present in 5 (3%) of 182 unstented allograft ureters and 5 of 13 stented allograft ureters. Two patients (1%) underwent repeat ureteroneocystostomy, one for obstruction and one for extravasation. The cystograms were normal in both patients. CONCLUSIONS: Routine retrograde cystography is unnecessary following urinary tract reconstruction by parallel incision extravesical ureteroneocystostomy.

Efficacy and safety of low molecular weight heparin in renal transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a common problem with potentially devastating results in patients undergoing major surgical procedures. Certain renal transplant recipients are particularly at risk for allograft loss as a consequence of renal vein and artery thrombosis. Over the past few years, low molecular weight heparin has been well established as an accepted modality of treatment and prophylaxis of DVT. The efficacy and safety of low molecular weight heparin in the prophylaxis of DVT following renal transplantation in adults has not previously been reported. METHODS: Dalteparin was administered to 120 adult renal transplant recipients postoperatively at the Oregon Health Sciences University. RESULTS: No patient developed allograft arterial or venous thrombosis. One patient developed subclavian vein thrombosis. No bleeding complications were encountered, and side effects were very minimal. CONCLUSION: Prophylaxis with dalteparin is an effective and safe modality for the prevention of thrombosis in adult patients undergoing renal transplantation.

Renal transplant nuclear tomography using Tc-99m MAG3.

In this study, the authors performed SPECT imaging on 12 renal transplant patients immediately after a routine planar study demonstrated tubular stasis. The stasis allowed the authors to obtain good quality tomograms on all of them. In five patients, the findings on the planar and SPECT studies were identical. In five patients, there was decreased upper pole activity on planar images and SPECT imaging differentiated between attenuation (4 patients) and cortical thinning (1 patient). In the remaining two patients, the SPECT images showed unanticipated information. It is not yet clear if this new information is of clinical value. It was concluded that diagnostic quality nuclear tomograms in renal transplant patients with tubular stasis can be easily and consistently obtained.

Thirty-seven years of renal transplantation in Oregon.

What we accomplish today as a matter of routine was only imagined by a few 4 decades ago. The journey from that first successful kidney transplant in the 1950s to the multidisciplinary, multiorgan transplant program of today has been a fascinating one. Although we attribute our current results to careful recipient selection and preparation, improvements in organ procurement and preservation, refinement of surgical techniques, improvement in histocompatibility techniques and organ sharing, improvements in immunosuppression and infection control, and careful monitoring of recipients, we and our patients have benefited from significant contributions from our colleagues in government and the law. The 4 that come to mind are the provision of near-universal insurance coverage for end stage renal disease patients in 1972 under the Medicare program, the passage of brain death laws in the mid 1970s, the passage of the National Transplant Act in 1984, and the passage of the Oregon required request law in 1985.

Cadaver kidney transplantation in patients more than 65 years old.

Elderly patients with end-stage renal disease often remain on dialytic therapy because they are at increased risk for mortality and morbidity. We placed 24 cadaver kidney transplants into 24 patients aged 65-74 years between September 1, 1985, and August 31, 1995. Rates of patient and graft survival were compared with those of 404 concurrent first cadaver-kidney transplant recipients between the ages of 20 and 44 years. The 5-year rates of patient and graft survival were not significantly different (86% versus 92% and 77% versus 63%, respectively; study group presented first). Primary cadaver kidney transplantation can be successfully performed in patients older than 65 years when a selection algorithm is applied to exclude active infection, active malignancy, unsuitable anatomy for technical success, high probability of operative mortality, and noncompliance. Pelvic arteriosclerosis and lower urinary tract abnormalities can cause intraoperative technical problems.

Patch and flap techniques to repair right renal vein defects caused by cadaver liver retrieval for transplantation.

We describe 2 techniques that allow right renal vein extension and prevent renal vein stenosis if the cephalic portion of the renal vein has been amputated when the liver is separated from the kidneys during multiple organ retrieval. These techniques were successfully used in 8 cadaver kidney transplant recipients.

Extravesical ureteroneocystostomy for duplicated allograft ureters.

We report a modification of unstented, parallel incision, extravesical ureteroneocystostomy for duplicated ureters. The technique is simple and effective, and requires no routine stenting.

Scrotal arteriovenous malformation: case report and literature review.

We report a rare case of scrotal arteriovenous malformation in an adolescent. Arteriovenous malformation of the scrotum is distinguished radiographically and histologically by numerous arterioles and thick walled veins with no intervening capillary bed. The cardinal sign is a bruit. Complete excision is recommended as definitive treatment. Preoperative angio-embolization may be helpful but it should not be relied upon for clinical resolution.

Prostatic occurrence of transitional cell carcinoma after intravesical chemotherapy.

Thirteen patients with Stage Tis, Ta, or T1 transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder treated by transurethral resections and intravesical chemotherapy developed TCC of the prostate. Among the 13 cases, cytology specimens were obtained from 10 at the time prostatic disease was diagnosed; 9 demonstrated TCC. One was treated successfully by transurethral resection of a Ta lesion involving the prostatic urethra only. One of 2 patients declining radical surgery is alive with residual disease at twenty-four months, and the other died of progressive disease at nineteen months. Of the 10 patients who underwent radical cystoprostatectomy, 7 are alive with no evidence of disease eight to forty-two months postoperatively, with 2 of these 7 having received 4 courses of systemic methotrexate, vincristine, Adriamycin, and cisplatinum (MVAC) for metastatic disease. Two of the 10 died of metastatic disease six and thirteen months postoperatively, and one frail patient died of surgical complications. When treating patients with intravesical chemotherapy for superficial TCC, biopsy of the prostate should be done during follow-up examinations, especially in the presence of cytologic or palpable prostatic abnormalities.

Major role for arterial disease in morbidity and mortality after kidney transplantation in diabetic recipients.

OBJECTIVE: To identify clinical characteristics of diabetic end-stage renal disease patients that place individual transplant candidates at high risk for arterial morbidity and mortality after transplantation. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We studied the course of 101 sequential renal allograft recipients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, transplanted between 10 November 1980 and 1 April 1986. Arterial disorders were tabulated from medical records and interviews with individual patients, their families, and their private physicians. Documentation of discrete arterial events included recorded physical examinations, radiographic studies, laboratory data, electrocardiograms, peripheral vascular flow studies, and operative reports. The prevalence of preoperative arterial disease was compared with the occurrence of new arterial events after kidney transplantation. RESULTS: Within a mean follow-up period of 47 mo, a 30% absolute mortality rate was observed. Of these deaths, 57% resulted from arterial disorders. Clinical manifestations of arterial disease were recognized in 41% of recipients before transplantation, and 78% of these patients suffered new vascular events after transplantation. Of the entire sample, 57% developed at least one new complication of arterial disease after transplantation, whereas only 34% had no vascular diagnosis before or after transplantation. Cerebral, coronary, and peripheral arterial complications after transplantation occurred in 14, 28, and 36% of the patients, respectively. The corresponding incidences of stroke, myocardial infarction, and amputation were 12, 14, and 25%. Pretransplant coronary artery disease predisposed to new coronary events after transplantation, but only peripheral arterial complications occurred more often after transplantation compared with the preoperative period. The probability of arterial complications or death correlated with patient age at first transplant and duration of diabetes but not with sex or smoking history. CONCLUSIONS: Intrinsic arterial disease in diabetic renal allograft recipients contributes heavily to the long-term morbidity and mortality after transplantation and poses the major threat to survival. Diabetic transplant candidates greater than 35 yr of age or with clinical evidence of arterial disease should undergo an extensive vascular assessment, including stress thallium myocardial imaging and/or coronary arteriography. Such recipients should receive careful preoperative counseling about their excess risk for subsequent arterial disorders.

De novo carcinoma of the lower urinary tract in renal allograft recipients.

Immunocompetence has been postulated as an important defense against the progression of urothelial carcinoma. Three cases of de novo lower urinary tract carcinoma in renal transplant recipients demonstrated the potential for unusually rapid urothelial extension and invasion in chronically immunosuppressed patients. Two patients had a history of perineal condyloma acuminata; tumors from 1 of these harbored the genetic sequences of human papillomavirus type 6. One patient had multiple manifestations of cyclophosphamide-related urothelial injury, including bladder carcinoma. Treatment of 2 patients culminated in a radical operation during which the remaining native urinary system was resected completely, with sacrifice of the allograft kidney in 1 and diversion into an ileal conduit in 1. The remaining patient underwent urethrectomy and partial cystectomy with a sigmoid conduit.