Nephrectomy necessitated by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty for renovascular hypertension

Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty has been enthusiastically selected as the choice of treat ment for renovascular hypertension since it involves a less invasive procedure and has a low morbidity.We document two cases of renovascular hypertension which required nephrectomy due to complica tions of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. In one case, the complication was nonocclusive renal artery dissection with saccular aneurysm formation in an atherosclerotic artery. In the other case, the complication was arterial rupture and perforation followed by occlusive renal artery dissection in the fibromuscular dysplastic artery. Although percutaneous transluminal angioplasty is effective, it should always be borne in mind that it can present grave hazards necessitating nephrectomy.