Advance Access publication 31 January 2009 Renal allograft thrombosis

Renal allograft thrombosis may be responsible for 2–7 % of early allograft losses in adults [1] and up to 35 % in chil-dren [2]. The North American Pediatric Renal Transplant Cooperative Study (NAPRTCS) reported that graft throm-bosis represented the main cause of graft failure in the first year. Most cases of renal allograft thrombosis occur early in the postoperative period with a peak incidence of 48 h. However, thrombus formation may be delayed until after the first week [3]. Thrombosis may initially involve the renal artery or more frequently the renal vein, but in some cases it is difficult to ascertain where the thrombosis originated. Several factors may be involved in the pathogenesis of graft thrombosis. Thrombosis may be caused by technical errors, by vascular clamp injury or perfusion cannulatio