[Arteriovenous fistula and thrombosis of the renal vein: complication of a surgical renal biopsy].

Hematuria is the most common complication of renal biopsy. Other complications are less frequent, but some of them may be life threatening. Herein, we present a case or recurrent hematuria. Within one year, two renal biopsies were surgically performed in this patient. The histological diagnosis reported minimal change glomerular lesions. Complications arose after the second biopsy, with development of an abdominal mass in the left side with severe pain. IVP showed absence of dye excretion from the left kidney. Renal arteriogram showed an arteriovenous fistula in the lower pole and absence of venous circulation in the same side. This data was consistent with renal vein thrombosis. The fistula was a complication of the renal biopsy, and most likely, the renal vein thrombosis developed from the fistula. Both complications disappeared spontaneously, the patient is asymptomatic and the IVP is normal. We conclude that the renal biopsy is not a harmless surgical procedure and it is necessary to carry out a through evaluation in order to justify the necessity to perform it.