Impact of renal graft nephrectomy on second kidney transplant survival

Purpose To determine the impact of non-functional renal graft nephrectomy on second kidney transplantation survival. Methods We performed a retrospective study on patients managed in our department from April 1989 to April 2011. We compared the number of acute graft rejections and graft survival between patients undergoing second transplantation with (Group I) or without (Group II) prior graft nephrectomy. Results A total of ninety-one patients received a second renal graft: 43 underwent graft nephrectomy and 48 kept their non-functional renal graft. There were 5 episodes of acute graft rejection in Group I and 12 in Group II ( p = 0.3). Six (13.9 %) grafts failed in Group I and eight (16.6 %) in Group II. Five and 10 years actuarial graft survival in Group I were, respectively, 91 and 85 %, while in Group II were 82.7 % and 69 % ( p = 0.2). PRA level and number of acute rejection episodes did not have a statistically significant influence on graft survival, whether the patient had a nephrectomy or not ( p = 0.2). Conclusion Nephrectomy of a failed allograft did not significantly improve the survival of a subsequent graft. Graft nephrectomy should be indicated in case of graft-related pain or a chronic inflammation syndrome.