Background: Renal paratransplant hernia (RPH) is an uncommon variant of internal hernias developed in renal transplant recipients. The aim of this review is to meticulously present and analyze all data coming mainly from case reports or short-case studies on this very uncommon surgical entity.
Materials and methods: The MEDLINE/PubMed database was searched for publications with the medical subject heading ‘‘renal paratransplant hernia’’. All the references from the identified articles were searched for relevant information. The end date of the literature search was set to March 2016.
Results: Our search revealed five publications, three short clinical series (three cases each) and two case reports. The total number of cases retrieved was 11. RPH should be considered as an iatrogenic surgical complication. The incidence is around 0.45%.
Conclusions: RPH is a relatively uncommon but potentially fatal complication after renal transplantation, and its nonspecific symptoms may lead to misdiagnosis. Physician awareness, prompt diagnosis, and early surgical intervention are critical. In addition, meticulous surgical technique during transplantation may help avoid this complication.