Renal artery variants- early branching

Volume rendered CT angiography images in a 34 year old male donor scheduled for donor nephrectomy showing early branching (<2 cm) on the right side (arrow).

Discussion:

Branching of the renal artery at a distance of less than 1.5/2 cm from its origin is early branching.

A large early branch from the renal artery can result in complications during the laparoscopic donor nephrectomy and during the renal transplantation.