Management of renal allografts with multiple renal arteries resulting from laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy

Abstract

Laparoscopic living donor nephrectomy (LLDN) has become an accepted procedure in many transplant centers. The placement of laparoscopic vascular staples can result in multiple short, small‐caliber renal arteries that the recipient surgeon must deal with to restore perfusion to all parts of the kidney. The incidence of multiple renal arteries resulting from LLDN, surgical management of multiple renal arteries, and the short‐ and long‐term graft functions were studied in 73 consecutive kidney recipients at a single center. Various techniques used for reconstruction are described, including the use of recipient internal iliac artery for the extension and reconstruction of small‐caliber, short renal vessels. Single‐artery allografts were compared with those with multiple arteries, with length of renal artery, warm ischemia time, hospital length of stay, operating time, creatinine levels, and 1 yr survival rates not found to be significantly different. The presence of multiple renal arteries should not exclude the possibility of using the left kidney for LLDN.