Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with kidney transplant had sudden kidney rupture and bleeding
By Palm, Carrie A et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2010·University of Pennsylvania, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Feline renal allograft rupture.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old domestic shorthair cat that had a kidney transplant three months earlier was brought in for sudden abdominal pain. An ultrasound showed that the transplanted kidney was enlarged and there was fluid in the abdomen. Sadly, the cat's condition worsened quickly, leading to a diagnosis of internal bleeding from a ruptured kidney. Despite emergency surgery, the cat went into cardiac arrest and could not be revived. This case highlights a rare but serious complication that can occur after kidney transplants in cats.
People also search for: cat kidney transplant complications · cat abdominal pain after surgery · why is my cat bleeding internally
Abstract
A 5-year-old domestic shorthair cat, that had undergone renal transplantation 3 months earlier, was evaluated after an acute episode of abdominal discomfort. Abdominal ultrasound revealed an enlarged renal allograft (5.5 cm; reference range, 3.2-4.2 cm) with pyelectasia (renal pelvis=3.7 mm; reference range, 1-2mm). Based on the ultrasonographic appearance of the allograft, primary rule-outs for the renomegaly included hypertrophy and allograft rejection. The ureter and urethra were dilated and a mild amount of abdominal effusion was noted. Thirty-six hours after admission, the cat became acutely hemodynamically unstable and was diagnosed with a hemoabdomen. Review of the original ultrasound revealed a peri-renal hematoma. During emergency laparotomy, ruptures in the cortex of the transplanted kidney were found to be the source of hemorrhage. Immediately following surgery, the cat experienced cardiorespiratory arrest, and resuscitation was not successful. Necropsy and histopathology revealed rupture of the renal allograft. This is the first reported case of renal allograft rupture in a cat, whereas allograft rupture has been reported in human renal transplant patients.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20227318/