Detection of a Dissecting Aortic Aneurysm by Renal Transplant Imaging

After 2 years with a normal post-transplant course a 45-year-old man showed an elevated creatinine level (4.5 mg/dL). Transplantation had been neccessary because of progressive glomerulonephritis. Renal transplant imaging was obtained with 150 Mbq Tc-99m MAG3. The perfusion images showed radionuclide accumulation in the area of the upper abdominal aorta and delayed perfusion of the right iliac artery. Accumulation of Tc-99m MAG3 in the transplant was slow and no filling of the bladder could be observed. Immediately after imaging, the patient developed acute hemorrhagic shock. At emergency surgery, a long dissecting and ruptured aneurysm of the abdominal aorta was seen causing delayed and reduced blood flow in the right iliac artery and the transplant.