Patients are kept in the ICU after surgery for 24-48 hours. The total duration of your hospital stay will depend on how the new pancreas is working and is usually 8-12 days.
Immunosuppression
Immunosuppressants are drugs that diminish the activity of your immune system and are required because your immune system will try and reject the new pancreas.You will need to take these drugs for the rest of your life. At BWH we use a steroid minimization protocol and hope to have you off steroids in the immediate post-operative period.
Complications
As with any surgery, there are possible complications associated with pancreas transplantation and are in the range of 5-10%.
Graft thrombosis
Anastamotic leaks
Pancreatitis
Bleeding
Infection
Pulmonary emboli
Death
Patient and Graft Survival
Patient survival rates have steadily improved and the current 1 year patient survival rate is 95- 98% Similarly, the pancreas graft functional survival is 83-85% at 1 year. Patients with Type 1 diabetes and kidney failure may remain on dialysis or undergo cadaveric kidney transplantation, living kidney transplantation, sequential pancreas after living kidney transplantation, or simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation. Data indicates that living kidney transplantation is associated with the greatest life expectancy. For patients without a living kidney donor, simultaneous kidney transplantation is associated with the greatest life expectancy.
Follow Up Care
You will follow the same guidelines that you did for a kidney transplant. Your blood glucose level will be checked three times a day. You will have additional testing to monitor the Amylase and Lipase levels in your blood to rule out rejection. You follow up visits will be the same as for kidney transplant and you transplant coordinator will work closely with you to set up your visits.
Disclaimer:
This site is not an attempt to practice medicine or provide specific medical advice, and should not be used to make a diagnosis or to replace or overrule a qualified health care provider's judgment. Nor should users rely upon the BWH web site if they might need emergency medical treatment. We strongly encourage users to consult with a qualified health care professional for answers to personal questions.
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