Renal function improvement after aortic valve replacement in a patient with chronic kidney disease - A case report

Inadequate peripheral perfusion due to cardiac diseases can worsen renal function in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Due to the nature of the simultaneous cardiac and renal disease, it is often difficult to determine which is the primary cause, and hence many surgeons hesitate to operate on patients with end-stage kidney disease. However, when the primary cause is cardiac related, renal function can improve after successful cardiac surgery. Here, we describe a 55-year-old female patient with CKD Stage 5 who was on maintenance hemodialysis with severe aortic stenosis (AS) and underwent surgical aortic valve replacement and recovered from dialysis-dependent kidney disease. Drastic improvement in renal function after cardiac surgery can occur even in patients with CKD due to improved renal perfusion, especially in cases of AS. Therefore, diagnosing the primary cause of renal dysfunction is essential.