Contact: Elise Grant, SIR Director of Communications and Public Relations, egrant@sirweb.org
FAIRFAX, Va. (Sept. 29, 2026) —A new study finds that embolization greatly reduces the risk of acute kidney injury and in-hospital mortality compared to nephrectomy when treating initially stable trauma patients with high-grade kidney injuries. The study was published online today in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology ( JVIR ).
The analysis examined 849 cases of American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) grade III-V kidney injuries recorded in the American College of Surgeons-Trauma Quality Improvement Program (ACS-TQIP) national trauma patient registry between 2017 and 2022. Of those cases examined, 380 (44.8%) underwent nephrectomy and 469 (55.2%) underwent embolization.
Compared to embolization, nephrectomy was associated with a higher risk of in-hospital mortality (17.1% vs. 4.9%) and acute kidney injury (14.7% vs. 4.1%). In addition, nephrectomy was also associated with significantly higher rates of cardiac arrest with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (8.5% vs 2.3%), unplanned return to the operating room (12.1% vs 4.0%), severe sepsis (2.6% vs 0.9%), myocardial infarction (1.0% vs 0.0%), deep surgical site infection (1.5% vs 0.2%) and superficial incisional surgical site infection (1.6% vs 0.2%).
“Our findings show that embolization is safe, effective and associated with better outcomes than nephrectomy for this patient cohort in both the near- and long-term,” said Waseem Wahood, MD, MS, the paper’s lead author and an interventional radiology resident with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Genitourinary (GU) tract injury occurs in about 10% of trauma cases, with the kidney being the most commonly injured GU organ. In addition to prolonged hospitalization and increased in-hospital mortality, a substantial proportion of patients who experience acute kidney injury following trauma will progress to chronic kidney disease. Chronic kidney disease is associated with long-term cardiovascular morbidity and risk of end-stage renal disease.
“By reducing the risks of acute kidney injury, embolization may help avoid chronic illness for these patients,” Wahood said. “While additional prospective work is needed to validate these findings, our initial analysis demonstrates that a renal-preservation strategy with embolization should be considered for initial management of stable patients with high-grade renal trauma.”
Read the full study at jvir.org .
###
About the Society of Interventional Radiology
The Society of Interventional Radiology is a nonprofit, professional medical society representing more than 8,000 practicing interventional radiology physicians, trainees, students, scientists, and clinical associates, dedicated to improving patient care through the limitless potential of image-guided therapies. SIR’s members work in a variety of settings and at different professional levels—from medical students and residents to university faculty and private practice physicians. Visit sirweb.org .
About the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology
The Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology ( JVIR ), published continuously since 1990, is a monthly peer-reviewed journal serving the global community and specialty of interventional radiology. The official journal of the Society of Interventional Radiology, JVIR is the authoritative journal of choice for interventional radiologists and other collaborating physicians and scientists in imaging and minimally invasive therapeutic fields who seek current, evidence-based information on every aspect of vascular and interventional radiology. Each issue includes clinical, translational, basic science, and health policy and socioeconomic research on emerging and established domains of the specialty. Visit jvir.org .
Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology
Embolization versus Nephrectomy in Hemodynamically Stable Patients with AAST Grade III-V Blunt Kidney Injuries: Association with Lower Rates of Acute Kidney Injury and In-Hospital Mortality
29-Sep-2026