Abstract

A 32 year old man underwent renal transplantation for the third time. This procedure was performed in December 1994, using the kidney of a living unrelated donor. The first transplanted kidney remained in the body after rejection but the second one was removed due to trauma. End-to-end anastomosis of the renal artery to the inferior mesenteric artery was performed and the ureter was reimplanted to the bladder by Lich's technique. The post-op period went on quite normally and no surgical complication or renal rejection was observed. The transplanted kidney continues to function normally after more than 18 months. In reviewing the medical literature and papers, we did not find any report on using the inferior mesenteric artery for renal transplantation. We recommend using the inferior mesenteric artery for renal re-transplantation in cases in which no other suitable artery exists. Since there would be no need for aortic dissection and because of rough similarity between the diameters of the renal artery and inferior mesenteric artery, the potential risk of vascular complications would be less.