renal transplantation

Renal transplantation is one, if not the most, common transplant procedures undertaken worldwide. Consequently, purposeful and incidental imaging of renal transplants and renal transplant-related complications are increasingly common. These include acute renal transplant rejection and chronic renal transplant rejection. Both renal donors and recipients undergo a pre-operative workup.

Radiographic features

Most renal transplants are sited in the extraperitoneal right iliac fossa. For a variety of surgical reasons (including vessel suitability or previous failed renal transplants), they may occur in the left iliac fossa or elsewhere.

Plain radiograph

• renal transplant not often visualized directly as obscured by other soft tissues of the pelvis but may be visible if calcified (i.e. failed)
• surgical paraphernalia such as clips and ureteric stents may be visible
• complications related to underlying disease, or the renal transplant and its associated anti-rejection medications (e.g. osteonecrosis)

Ultrasound

Renal transplant ultrasound is commonly utilized to evaluate for complications post-operatively. Read the separate article on this for US features .

Practical points

The preoperative workup should include a chest and abdominal x-ray, an abdominal ultrasound, an echocardiogram and coronary stress tests. However, in most patients, an abdominal CT is also useful to evaluate arterial calcifications and caliber (especially of the right external iliac artery).

See also

• renal transplant complications
• renal transplant ultrasound (approach)

Siehe auch:

• Beckenniere
• Komplikationen nach Nierentransplantation

und weiter:

• Nierenarterienstenose
• renovaskuläre arterielle Hypertonie
• Transplantation
• percutaneous transluminal angioplasty in a segmental renal artery stenosis of a transplanted kidney
• beide Nieren auf einer Seite
• the pathology of renal transplantation