Successful local arterial urokinase infusion to reverse late postoperative venous thrombosis of a renal graft

Graft renal vein thrombosis is fortunately rare, ranging between 1 and 4% of recipients . This event usually occurs in the early postoperative period and is associated with surgical complications, acute vascular rejection, and probably some immunosuppressive regimens, particularly OKT3, although the role of cyclosporin remains controversial . Unfortunately, acute thrombosis generally results in permanent graft loss, unless thrombectomy and postoperative anticoagulation are promptly started. The occurrence of allograft vein thrombosis several months after kidney transplantation is infrequent. When the diagnosis is made early, streptokinase infusion can result in successful thrombolysis ]. We present a case in which a partial renal vein thrombosis was successfully treated by combined intra-arterial and venous infusion of urokinase.