Successful renal transplantation in children in the presence of thrombosis of the inferior vena cava

Kidney Transplantation Using Gonadal Vein for Venous Anastomosis in Patients With Iliac Vein Thrombosis or Stenosis: A Series of Cases

BACKGROUND

Kidney transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with end-stage renal disease. The standard surgery uses the recipient's iliac vessels for vascular anastomosis. Thrombosis and/or stenosis of the iliac vein, which are possible complications of multiple vascular access points for dialysis, can be detected intraoperatively, constituting a surgical challenge. An infrequently reported option is the use of the gonadal vein.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to evaluate the outcomes of venous anastomosis in the gonadal vein in patients with iliac vein thrombosis and/or stenosis submitted to kidney transplantation.

METHODS

We reviewed the records of five adult recipients with iliac vein thrombosis and/or stenosis detected intraoperatively during emergency kidney transplantation with deceased donor due to vascular access failure from February 2013 to December 2014. Antithrombotic prophylaxis was not performed. We evaluated the postoperative complications, length of stay, early graft echo-Doppler, and renal function during the first year postoperatively.

RESULTS

Delayed graft function occurred in three cases. Two patients developed postoperative infection requiring antibiotics. One patient required reoperation due to post-renal biopsy complications. The mean length of stay was 31.2 days and the mean serum creatinine levels at discharge, at 6 months, and at 12 months postoperatively were 1.42 mg/dL, 0.86 mg/dL, and 0.82 mg/dL, respectively. All patients had normal ultrasonography. There were no losses of graft or deaths during follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Venous anastomosis using the gonadal vein in kidney transplantation for patients with iliac vein thrombosis and/or stenosis showed good clinical and surgical results, showing this method to be a viable alternative to venous drainage in these complex patients.

Successful Kidney Transplantation in Children With a Compromised Inferior Vena Cava

Background

Children with a compromised inferior vena cava (IVC) were previously considered unsuitable for kidney transplantation because of the technical difficulties and the increased risk of graft thrombosis secondary to inadequate renal venous outflow.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective study of 11 transplants in 9 patients with end-stage renal disease and thrombosed IVCs who received adult kidney allografts between 2000 and 2015. The mean age at transplantation was 7.5 ± 3.5 years. A pretransplant diagnosis of the IVC thrombosis was made in 7 patients by magnetic resonance imaging and computerized tomography, whereas there were 2 instances of intraoperative discovery of the IVC thrombosis.

Results

In the early cases, a kidney was placed intraperitoneally at the right iliac fossa with a venous anastomosis to the patent segment of the suprarenal IVC. After 2008, however, 6 adult-sized kidneys were subsequently placed in the left orthotopic position. Venous drainage was attained to the infrahepatic IVC (n = 3), left native renal vein (n = 2), and ascending lumbar vein (n = 1). Moreover, a venous bypass was created between the graft and the splenic vein in 2 children who showed high return pressure after the vessel was declamped.

The mean glomerular filtration rate of the functioning 8 grafts 1 year posttransplant was 73.4 ± 20.4 mL/min per 1.73 m². Of note, 6 of the grafts have been functioning well, with a mean follow-up of 66 months. Both 1- and 5-year graft survival were 81.8%.

Conclusions

Transplantation into the left orthotopic position and the revascularization methods are an effective set of surgical techniques that could potentially be adopted as safe and reliable transplant approaches in children with IVC thrombosis.

Vascular anastomosis for paediatric renal transplantation and new strategy in low-weight children

The technical aspects of RT in low-weight children should be specific, particularly with regard to VA. This retrospective study assesses the main VA options in paediatric RTs and proposes a new strategy for renal artery trajectory when using the Ao and the right iVC. The sample included 81 patients and was categorized into a group of children weighing <16 kg and the other group of children weighing 16 kg or more. The smaller children received the graft predominantly on the Ao and iVC (63%); however, the VA options varied in children weighing more than 16 kg, with anastomoses predominantly to the common iliac vessels (46%). In the first group, when the Ao was the selected vessel for anastomosis on the right side, the trajectory adopted for the transplanted kidney artery was posterior to the iVC. This strategy may reduce the risk of compression of the iVC by the renal artery of the donor kidney and may reconstitute the normal anatomy of the renal artery. Moreover, it did not represent a risk factor for graft loss in this sample.

Reno-portal anastomosis as an approach to pediatric kidney transplantation in the setting of inferior vena cava thrombosis

In pediatric renal transplantation in the setting of IVC thrombosis, the retrohepatic IVC or gonadal veins are often used for outflow. However, if use of systemic venous outflow is unsuccessful, options become limited. We report the use of the portal vein for venous outflow in kidney retransplantation in the setting of IVC thrombosis. The patient is a 19-month-old male who developed end-stage renal failure at seven months of age secondary to hypotension after spontaneous rupture of an accessory renal vein. The IVC was occluded during emergent laparotomy, and the patient developed extensive IVC thrombosis. The first two transplant attempts used the retrohepatic IVC for venous outflow. Despite good initial flow, in both instances the renal vein thrombosed on post-operative day 1. In an unsuccessful salvage attempt of the second transplant, a reno-portal anastomosis was performed. With few options for vascular access, a third transplant was attempted. The reno-portal stump from the second transplant was used for outflow. The patient recovered well from his third transplant (creatinine 0.6 mg/dL 35 months post-surgery), demonstrating that the portal vein can be used for outflow in cases of extensive IVC thrombosis.

Abdominal wall phlebitis due to Prevotella bivia following renal transplantation in a patient with an occluded inferior vena cava

Pre-existing occlusion of the inferior vena cava may complicate renal transplantation. Suppurative abdominal wall phlebitis following renal transplantation was diagnosed in a patient with pre-existing thrombosis of the inferior vena cava of unknown cause. The phlebitis developed in the subcutaneous collateral veins of the abdominal wall contra-laterally to the renal transplant. Cultures from abdominal wall micro-abscesses yielded Prevotella bivia as the causative agent. This complication has not been described before in the context of renal transplantation. The pathogenesis and management of this serious complication are discussed in this paper.

Combined split liver and kidney transplantation in a three-year-old child with primary hyperoxaluria type 1 and complete thrombosis of the inferior vena cava

PH1 is an inborn error of the metabolism in which a functional deficiency of the liver-specific peroxisomal enzyme, AGT, causes hyperoxaluria and hyperglycolic aciduria. Infantile PH1 is the most aggressive form of this disease, leading to early nephrocalcinosis, systemic oxalosis, and end-stage renal failure. Infantile PH1 is rapidly fatal in children unless timely liver-kidney transplantation is performed to correct both the hepatic enzyme defect and the renal end-organ damage. The surgical procedure can be further complicated in infants and young children, who are at higher risk for vascular anomalies, such as IVC thrombosis. Although recently a limited number of children with IVC thrombosis have underwent successful kidney transplantation, successful multi-organ transplantation in a child with complete IVC thrombosis is quite rare. We report here the interesting and technically difficult case of a three-yr-old girl with a complete thrombosis of the IVC, who was the recipient of combined split liver and kidney transplantation for infantile PH1. Although initial delayed renal graft function with mild-to-moderate acute rejection was observed, the patient rapidly regained renal function after steroid boluses, and was soon hemodialysis-independent, with good diuresis. Serum and plasma oxalate levels progressively decreased; although, to date they are still above normal. Hepatic and renal function indices were at, or approaching, normal values when the patient was discharged 15-wk post-transplant, and the patient continues to do well, with close and frequent follow-up. This is the first report of a successful double-organ transplant in a pediatric patient presenting with infantile PH1 complicated by complete IVC thrombosis.

Successful adult-to-child renal transplantation utilizing the ovarian vein in children with inferior vena cava/iliac vein thrombosis

IVC/iliac vein thrombosis has previously been considered to be a contraindication to renal transplantation because of the technical difficulties and the increased risk of graft thrombosis. We report two successful cases of adult-to-child kidney transplantation in which we anastomosed the graft renal vein to the recipient ovarian vein in the presence of IVC and/or iliac vein thrombosis, with no short or long term vascular complications. Our experience, which adds to the successful reports from several other centers, suggests that the inability to use the iliocaval axis should no longer be considered a contraindication to pediatric renal transplantation.

Renal transplantation after excision of the inferior vena cava for residual renal cell carcinoma

A rare case is reported of a 47-year-old patient who had residual tumour left in the stump of his left renal vein and inferior vena cava (IVC) after a left nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma, having previously had a right nephrectomy for a non-malignant disease. He underwent delayed excision of the residual renal tumour after seven months with a prosthetic graft replacement of the IVC. Five years later he developed a graft infection caused by a graft-enteric duodenal fistula. The infected graft was excised and the duodenum closed. The patient has subsequently undergone a successful renal transplantation despite a lack of major venous outflow and remains alive and well eight years after initial removal of the tumour from the IVC.

Renal transplantation in children with thrombosis of the inferior vena cava requires careful assessment and planning

Children with end-stage renal disease and inferior vena cava (IVC) thrombosis are rare, and their condition is complex and high risk for renal transplantation. Detailed imaging studies of the recipient's abdominal vasculature should be carried out prior to transplantation, followed by careful pre-operative joint planning by the pediatric transplant surgeon and nephrologist. Critical decisions need to be made as to whether a deceased child's kidney or an adult-sized kidney is to be used, and if the latter, whether it should be from a deceased or living donor. In addition, the contemplated site of the donor's renal vein anastomosis needs to be determined with a consideration of the possible consequences of the various choices. Sixteen cases of renal transplantation in children with pre-existing IVC thrombosis are reviewed, including the three reported by Shenoy et al. in this journal. With a full understanding of the difficulties noted, renal transplantation in a small child with IVC thrombosis can be successful. However, it requires thorough recipient assessment, coupled with a careful and thoughtful examination of options, to determine the best possible approach to the transplantation.