Surgical complications of renal transplantation: ultrasound diagnosis.

Objective: Ultrasound is the principal imaging technique for the evaluation of a renal allograft; it is a safe imaging technique to assess the structure of the graft and its perfusion without the need for intravenous contrast or ionizing radiation. The evaluation of kidney transplant complications is easy due to its presence in the iliac fossa lying anterior to the external iliac vessels. Complications may be classified as medical and surgical; the latter are classified in urologic, vascular and general surgical complications. Materials and Methods: Our experience on surgical complications in kidney recipients from donors, on the role of ultrasound in the diagnosis of these complications and their impact on the graft and patient survival rates is reported. Results: Ultrasonoghaphy represents a safe imaging technique to assess the structure of the graft and its perfusion without the use of ionizing radiation and iodinated contrast medium, and a quick, accurate method for the evaluation of complications. Conclusions: Although it possesses limitations and is ultimately operator dependent, ultrasound is considered an excellent tool for the assessment of the kidney transplant and in our experience it represents the main imaging technique used in the evaluation of graft complications

Are there any relations among transplant centre volume, surgical technique and anatomy for donor graft selection? Ten-year multicentric Italian experience on mini-invasive living donor nephrectomy

Selection of the right or left living donor kidney for transplantation is influenced by many variables. In the present multi centric study including 21 Italian transplant centres, we evaluated whether centre volume or surgical technique may influence the selection process