Kidney Test Mishap Shocks Radiologist : Medicine: Doctor has performed 20,000 such preoperative procedures without incident. Couple’s transplant is in jeopardy.
SAN DIEGO — After performing more than 20,000 arteriograms in a distinguished 21-year career, Dr. Harold Coons finally saw one of the delicate procedures go awry--during the most highly publicized case he had ever handled.
The nationally prominent invasive radiologist said at a news conference Thursday that he was shocked when he tore one of three arteries leading to the left kidney of a Mission Viejo newlywed whom he was preparing for kidney transplant surgery at Sharp Memorial Hospital on Wednesday.
As a result, Victoria Ingram-Curlee’s nationally publicized organ donation to diabetic husband Randall Curlee, whom she had married in a hospital ceremony 24 hours earlier, has been postponed three to four weeks and could be canceled if her kidney fails to heal.
Doctors said Thursday that there is as much as a 35% chance that Randall Curlee, 46, will have to find a new kidney donor--a difficult task. In the meantime, he may undergo dialysis treatment for his failing kidneys.
The arterial tear, which occurred during a routine preoperative procedure common in kidney transplantation, came on a day the senior radiologist performed five similar procedures, including one on an infant.
“It was theoretically a much more difficult procedure those five other times,” he said in an interview, “but with her, we had a problem. At the end of the day, my colleagues kidded me, saying, ‘We’re real glad it was you--and not us.’ I guess it was one of those things.”
Coons, director of angiography and intervention radiology at Sharp Memorial, said the 45-year-old Ingram-Curlee was found to have had multiple arteries leading to her left kidney, which is common in 25% of the population.
“During the procedure, we were catheterizing two arteries leading to her left kidney,” he said. “She has a very small artery leading to the lower pole of the kidney. And there was a dissection . . . a little linear tear in the delicate lining of the artery.
“This is a potential risk in any procedure like this,” he said. “But it’s extremely rare. This had never happened to me even once.”
Neither Ingram-Curlee nor her husband could be reached for comment Thursday. They are expected to speak at a news conference today.
Kidney Complication During a standard diagnostic test on Victoria Ingram-Curlee’s kidneys, a renal artery was torn. The renal artery supplies blood to the kidney from the aorta, the body’s main blood vessel. What happened: 1. Catheter tears artery lining 2. Blood flows between artery lining and outer wall, creating bulge 3. Blood flow to lower kidney diminished
Kidney Profile The kidneys regulae the body’s fluid balance. Some facts: Size: About 4 to 5 inches long, weighs about 6 ounces. Functions: Filters blood and excretes waste and excess water. Efficiency diminishes with age. Sources: The American Medical Assn. Encyclopedia of Medicine; Dr. Harold Coons, director of angiography and intervention radiology at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego; Researched by CAROLINE LEMKE / Los Angeles Times
