Iliofemoral deep venous thrombosis in kidney transplant patients can cause graft dysfunction

Abstract

We present a series of kidney transplant dysfunction secondary to lower extremity deep venous thrombosis (DVT). A 70-year-old man underwent living unrelated kidney transplantation and presented 2 months postoperatively with acute kidney injury (AKI) secondary to external iliac vein thrombosis. Graft function improved after endovascular intervention. A 43-year-old man underwent living unrelated kidney transplantation and presented 3 years postoperatively with AKI secondary to external iliac vein thrombosis. Graft function recovered after thrombolysis. A 42-year-old woman underwent simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation. Four weeks postoperatively, she had AKI secondary to common femoral vein DVT. Her graft function improved after common iliac vein stenting. A 67-year-old man underwent living unrelated kidney transplantation and presented a week later with lower extremity DVT and AKI. His graft function improved with anticoagulation. Iliofemoral DVT can cause allograft dysfunction. The cause may be multifactorial. Endovascular intervention is safe and feasible when anticoagulation fails. Keywords: Renal transplant, Iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis, Graft dysfunction