Abstract
The authors report a case of renal artery embolism (RAE) treated after 42 hours from
onset of symptoms with locoregional rt-PA fibrinolysis followed by a 30% recovery
of function of the involved kidney. The literature on the surgical and fibrinolytic
treatment of the RAE has been reviewed. The experience suggests that rt-PA fibrinolysis
is effective for treating the renal artery embolism with good results regarding the
patency of the vessel and the functional recovery, and with low risk of mortality
and major complications compared with surgical embolectomy.
