SONOGRAPHY OF RENAL-TRANSPLANTATION

Many potential causes of renal transplant dysfunction are accurately a nd noninvasively diagnosed by sonograpy. Gray scale sonography may ide ntify hydronephrosis and perinephric fluid collections. Screening of v ascular complications of renal transplantation is easily performed usi ng color and duplex Doppler sonography. Initial studies emphasizing th e ability of sonography to noninvasively discriminate between acute re jection and other causes of transplant dysfunction (acute tubular necr osis, cyclosporine toxicity) have largely been discounted. Nonetheless , ultrasound may still play a pivotal role in differentiating between intrinsic causes of graft dysfunction by providing guidance for defini te percutaneous renal biopsy.