From Donor to Recipient: Doppler US, power US and scintigraphy of kidney perfusion before and after transplantation

Purpose: To follow kidneys from the donor to the recipient by assessing whether perfusion changes occur by using duplex Doppler US, power Doppler US and scintigraphy. Material and Methods: The prospective study included 12 donors and their corresponding 12 recipients. For each donor, both donor kidneys were evaluated by duplex Doppler US, power Doppler US and scintigraphy 1 day before surgery. The same procedure was carried out on the renal allografts at days 1, 3, 5 and months 1 and 3 post-transplantation. Power Doppler findings were classified according to a grading system of 1 to 4. Resistive indices (RIs) were determined based on interlobar and segmental arterial flow. Peak systolic velocity and RIs of the main renal artery were also measured. A perfusion parameter named the peak-to-plateau ratio was calculated. Statistical analysis was performed using the paired-samples t-test. Results: Intrarenal RI elevation and decreased renal artery peak systolic velocity was observed in normally functioning recipient kidneys. Conclusion: Duplex Doppler sonography demonstrated that transplanted kidneys had an increase in intrarenal vascular resistance at 1 month and a decrease in renal artery peak systolic velocity at 3 months post-transplantation. Scintigraphy and power Doppler US did not reveal any statistically significant perfusion change in normally functioning kidneys from donor to recipient.