Management of renal hypertension in children with Takayasu's arteritis using renal autografting or allograft transplantation in selected circumstances and total lymphoid irradiation.

In a decade from 1980, 11 children aged 3 to 11 years presented with Takayasu's arteritis (TA). All were severely hypertensive. Operative correction was offered to 10 of 11 children presenting with renovascular hypertension (RVH) including cardiac failure alone in 1 and both renal and cardiac failure in 8, a result of TA involving renal arteries by stenosis or occlusion. Nine patients had renal autotransplantation to an heterotopic site in the pelvis. Seven of 12 kidneys were salvaged by autotransplant with relief of RVH. Renal artery stenosis was successfully corrected by this procedure in 5 patients. Autotransplantation failed in 4 patients, 1 of whom subsequently had a successful allograft transplant. One patient was treated primarily by cadaver allograft transplantation. One patient whose autotransplant failed had a functioning contralateral kidney and is well with controlled RVH. One patient died prior to any treatment. Patient survival improved with the use of total lymphoid irradiation in the most recent 7 patients.