Patel Arbaaz, Sener Alp, Lee Stefanie Y
Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Departments of Surgery and Microbiology and Immunology, Matthew Mailing Center for Translational Transplant Studies, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
J Clin Ultrasound. 2022 May;50(4):521-524. doi: 10.1002/jcu.23079. Epub 2021 Oct 11.
Reversal of arterial diastolic flow is commonly considered a sign of transplant renal vein thrombosis until proven otherwise, with the differential including acute rejection, acute tubular necrosis, and perirenal hematoma. We discuss a case of a patient who presented with decreased urine output on the second postoperative day following living unrelated kidney transplantation. Doppler ultrasound was performed and demonstrated reversal of diastolic flow in the transplant renal artery. Prompt surgical exploration revealed intraluminal blood clot obstructing the ureter. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of reversed diastolic flow secondary to ureteral obstruction by an intraluminal blood clot.