Single-center study of technical graft loss in 714 consecutive renal transplants

No series has specifically focused on rates of technical failure in the kidney transplantation operation. We retrospectively examined the incidence of technical graft loss in a single kidney transplant program. A total of 714 transplants were performed, with a mean follow-up of 3.4 years (range 2-5 years). Technical graft loss was defined as graft loss within the first 2 weeks, without evidence of allograft rejection. Fourteen patients (2%) demonstrated technical graft loss, none of whom received kidneys with multiple renal arteries (n=106 with multiple renal arteries). The incidence of technical graft loss was significantly higher in diabetic recipients (4.3% vs. 1.4%, P=0.03). The mean donor age was significantly higher (46.7 vs. 38.1 years, P=0.05) in patients with technical graft loss. We observed that arterial thrombosis seemed to be related to the donor (older donor significant risk P=0.04) and that venous thrombosis seemed to be related to the recipient (four of seven patients with positive hypercoagulable workup).