Studies of Individual Vascular Anatomy Patterns in Kidney Transplants

Background. In 2022, the number of kidney transplants performed worldwide totaled 102,149. According to various sources, individual vascular variations of the kidney's extra-organ vessels were detected in 3.3-47% of cases. Studies on renal vascular morphology are limited. There is no consensus on the prevalence of multiple renal vessels. Objective. To evaluate the prevalence of vascular anatomical variations in kidney transplants. Material and Methods: The vascular anatomy of 287 renal transplants was analyzed to identify arterial, venous, or combined arterial-venous vascular variations. Results. Individual vascular variation was detected in 77 (26.8%) cases. Of these, variations in the arterial vascular bed were found in 64 (22.3% of the total number of donor kidneys), in the venous vascular bed – in 4 (1.4%), in the arterial-venous vascular bed – in 9 (3.1%). The most common variation was the presence of an additional inferior polar artery (IPA) in 31 donor kidneys (40.3% of the total number of variations). Conclusion. Individual vascular variation of renal transplants, which was detected in 26.8% of cases, makes it difficult to perform surgeries aimed at adequate organ revascularization during transplantation and can lead to serious complications. This necessitates clear indications for the specific type of reconstruction, depending on the vascular variation.