title: Horseshoe kidneys: an underutilized resource in kidney transplant.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although the number of patients awaiting renal transplant is rapidly increasing, the donor pool has remained relatively stable. Horseshoe kidneys, a common renal fusion anomaly, can provide a useful solution to the ever increasing gap between supply and demand.
  
  
  METHODS
  These kidneys can be transplanted, en bloc, into a single recipient or divided and transplanted into 2 recipients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We report 2 cases of successful kidney transplants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The first is a split horseshoe kidney, transplanted into a single recipient, and the second, a horseshoe kidney from a donor after cardiac death split and transplanted into a single recipient. The second case is the first reported case of a horseshoe kidney transplant from a donor after cardiac death. We also performed a review of the literature of horseshoe kidneys with the hope of raising awareness of the necessity and promise of such transplants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Albert Einstein Medical Center and Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA. pont0035@umn.edu
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pontinen
authors.forename: Kamran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Khanmoradi
authors.forename: Anil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Hussam
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kudsi
authors.forename: Shiang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cheng Kung
authors.forename: Daranee
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chewaproug
authors.forename: Radi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zaki
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ortiz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003643:Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000002:abnormalities*; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000601:surgery*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014019:Tissue Donors; D016896:Treatment Outcome