A prospective comparison of bladder versus enteric drainage in vascularized pancreas transplantation

In previous years, the number of pancreas transplants has increased significantly. Debate continues over the optimum technique for exocrine drainage. Enteric drainage (ED) has recently been increasingly popular owing to the long-term complications of bladder drainage (BD). We prospectively evaluated 40 consecutive pancreas transplant recipients undergoing either bladder (n = 20) or enteric (n = 20) drainage. After simultaneous kidney-pancreas transplantation 1-year patient, kidney, and pancreas graft survival rates were 95%, 95%, 85% for the BD group, and 90%, 85%, 85%, for the ED group. Surgical complications were not significantly different between the two groups. The incidence of acute rejection, major infections and cytomegalovirus disease were also similar. The length of the initial hospital stay was likewise comparable. However, the BD group was characterized by a slight increase in the number of urologic complications, metabolic acidosis, and dehydration. Our results suggest excellent patient and graft survival irrespective of the drainage technique.