Beneficial Effects of Tonsillectomy for Mesangial Immunoglobulin A (IgA) Deposition and Clinical Outcome in Five Kidney Transplant Patients With Recurrent IgA Nephropathy: Case Report

Introduction Tonsillectomy has been applied for recurrent immunoglobulin (Ig)A nephropathy (IgAN) in kidney transplantation recipients, but allograft histologic changes after this treatment remain unclear. Methods Five patients with recurrent IgAN underwent tonsillectomy for persistent proteinuria (average, 397.2 mg/d; >6 months). Six repeated biopsies were taken 33.8 ± 17.1 months after treatment. Glomerular IgA deposition was detected by immunofluorescence staining on frozen tissue. Histologic and clinical data have been collected. Results An average of 11.2 months (range, 6–20) after tonsillectomy, proteinuria decreased to 60.8 ± 49.3 mg/d. Serum creatinine (SCr) slightly decreased (1.33 ± 0.31 before vs 1.24 ± 0.29 after treatment; P > .05). In 5 of the 6 repeated biopsy samples month after tonsillectomy, there was decreased mesangial IgA deposition. Glomerular crescent and endothelial proliferation were no longer found, although there was increased focal sclerosis and adhesion. After tonsillectomy, there were increased interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy, with no significant differences in Banff scores. Conclusions Tonsillectomy can reverse not only persistent proteinuria, but also mesangial IgA deposition in patients with recurrent IgAN. Tonsillectomy may have both favorable clinical and histologic effects in recurrent IgAN after kidney transplantation.