Emergency endovascular stenting of the right iliac artery in a patient with secondary haemorrhage following transplant nephrectomy

Abstract

A patient presented with abdominal pain, hypotension and a retroperitoneal haematoma 5 days after transplant nephrectomy. Vascular injury sustained from transplant nephrectomy was repaired using endovascular techniques. Several known advantages to endovascular repair include: (1) intervention by a less invasive approach, (2) performance under local anaesthesia, (3) association with a shorter hospital stay and (4) reduction in morbidity and mortality. There were no infectious complications to the stent or the patient despite positive blood cultures obtained upon admission to the hospital. It was concluded that endovascular repair of an iliac artery used for kidney transplantation had favourable outcomes with respect to infection control and use of the vessel for future anastomosis. Copyright 2012 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.