Calciphylaxis After Kidney Transplant

Calciphylaxis is an uncommon disease that presents with painful ulceration and necrosis of the skin secondary to small vessel calcification and microvascular occlusion. Calciphylaxis carries a poor prognosis as the nonhealing wounds provide a port of entry for pathogens, predisposing these patients to infection and sepsis. Ulcers caused by calciphylaxis are most commonly seen in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) but can also present in patients with normal electrolytes and kidney function. We report a case of a 42-year-old woman with a 10-year history of ESRD who developed rapidly progressing calciphylaxis in her legs and hand, starting three months after successful kidney transplantation. The relationship between kidney transplantation and calciphylaxis remains unclear. There are a handful of cases in which calciphylaxis has been treated by successful kidney transplant, however, other cases have been reported in which calciphylaxis developed after kidney transplantation.