Pancreas Transplant

For the patients with following medical conditions, pancreas transplant surgery is not suggested:

● Pancreatic cancer
● Morbid obesity
● Substance abuse
● Psychiatric disease

Other contraindications may still apply.

Patient is required to stay 1 week in hospital

3 to 4 weeks

At least 4 weeks before the pancreas transplant operation, the patients should stop smoking. Also, blood thinners, herbal teas, and anti-inflammatory medications should be avoided as well. Before the operation, the patients should be in a good state of health for the procedure to have positive results. A doctor would assess the patient’s overall health state before the pancreas transplant operation.

Firstly, general anesthesia is given to the patient. After, the doctor makes an incision on the central abdomen. The new pancreas is harvested with a small portion of the small intestine. The doctor will then proceed to attach the new pancreas to the patient’s bladder or small intestine. Also, the blood vessels are linked to the new pancreas as well. The patient’s old pancreas remains as it is– this is a safety measure in case the transplant gets rejected by the body.

Finally, the incision is sewed, and bandages are applied. The procedure lasts for around 3 hours in total.

After the operation, the patient needs to stay for a couple of days in an intensive care unit, under strict medical supervision. After the surgery, the new pancreas is expected to start working instantly. Also, the patients need to stay in the hospital for around a week and close medical supervision is essential for 3-4 weeks. Once the operation is completed, immunosuppressant drugs are given to the patient.

Pancreas transplant operation has some complications such as:

● Infection
● Bleeding
● Pancreatitis
● Thrombosis
● Transplant rejection

Pancreas transplant surgery has some side effects such as pain, discomfort and swelling around the incision site. Also, nausea and vomiting can be experienced by some of the patients.

The success rate of the pancreas transplant is 95%, at one year after the transplant is performed.

With the pancreas transplant operation, a patient’s life can be extended by several years. Around 85% of transplanted pancreases are functional for several years after the procedure has been performed. However, taking immunosuppressant drugs can increase the possibility of having other diseases such as infections or cancer.

– How long do I need to take immunosuppressant drugs?
The patients who had pancreas transplant must take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of their lives, even if it can increase the risk of developing other medical conditions.

– Will I need to visit the clinic sometime after the surgery?
Yes, the patients who had pancreas transplant has to be observed for the rest of their lives. Also, it might be needed to change the dosages of immunosuppressant drugs.

– What is the possibility of experiencing organ rejection?
The prevalence of organ rejection is around 1%.

This content is written and reviewed by our medical content team in October, 2019.