Ischemic reperfusion injury of renal transplant mimics acute rejection on renal scintigraphy in early post-operative period

Renal scintigraphy of a renal graft is a non-invasive imaging used to evaluate renal graft dysfunction in relay postoperative period. We presented the case of a 42-year-old man when underwent renal transplantation and developed anuria with severe renal impairment. Renal scintigraphy yielded no visualization of the renal graft. Subsequently, the patient underwent an exploratory laparotomy. The graft was found to have normal perfusion, and a surgical biopsy suggestive of an acute perfusion injury and mild tubular necrosis. The patient recovered with conservative therapy. This case highlights a common limitation of renal scintigraphy in a post-renal-transplantation patient with severe renal impairment.