Effectiveness and safety of endovascular stenting for blunt renal artery injury: partially occluded five cases

Objective : The purpose of renal artery stent placement is to preserve renal function and prevent renovascular hypertension. We here evaluated the effectiveness and safety of renal artery stent placement for blunt renal artery injury at our institution. Materials and Methods : We retrospectively reviewed five patients (4 males, and 1 female) with partially occluded renal artery injury that had been treated with stenting over a 10-year period at our institution. Results : Trauma resulted from falling in four patients and a motor vehicle accident in one. All patients received mul-tiple injuries (median injury severity score, 32; range, 22-57). Median survival probability was 0.547 (0.533-0.980). And median follow-up duration was 12 (3-110) months. Although two patients developed reversible acute renal failure, none required permanent hemodialysis. Furthermore all patients survived, and no direct stenting complications were observed. At follow-up, contrast computed tomography scanning showed renal artery patency and an absence of renal atrophy in these patients. Renal scintigraphy was performed in three patients and showed renal function preservation. One patient with renovascular hypertension was successfully treated with antihypertensive agents for a month and subsequently became normotensive without requiring further medication. Conclusions : All patients survived renal artery stenting with no direct complications. In addition, the renal function was preserved without permanent renovascular hypertension. We therefore consider that renal artery stent placement is an effective and favorable treatment option for partially occluded blunt renal artery injury.