Porcine dermal collagen graft in pediatric renal transplantation

Successful closure of the anterior abdominal wall in infants following renal transplantation of adult organs may present a challenging dilemma to the transplant surgeon. Restricted volume of the recipient abdominal cavity and size discrepancy of donor adult kidney may lead to graft compromise. Pressure on the graft may be exacerbated further in the postoperative period by oedema that may lead to abdominal compartment syndrome. Donor/recipient size disparity remains the major obstacle in infant renal transplantation. We describe the use of a porcine collagen graft to facilitate closure of the abdominal wall following intra-peritoneal transplantation of an adult cadaveric kidney.