Circulatory arrest to protect transplant kidney in a patient with chronic type III dissection.

With broader indications for renal transplantation and improved allograft survival, it is anticipated that the problem of aortic disease in the post-transplant patient will be encountered with increasing frequency. We report a technique of protecting the transplant kidney from ischemic damage during distal aortic surgery. A 30-year-old renal transplant patient who had undergone an operation for ruptured chronic type III dissection 3 years previously underwent abdominal aortic aneurysm repair under hypothermic circulatory arrest. The patient recovered uneventfully and is presently doing well 1 year after the operation. Hypothermic circulatory arrest could be used in selected cases as a useful alternative for transplant kidney protection.