Ultrasound evaluation of vascular complications in pancreas transplant recipients

Transplantation of the pancreas is progressively becoming one of the preferred options of treating the insulin addicted diabetes mellitus. Pancreas can be transplanted alone, or together with a kidney, the latter option becoming more successful in recent years. In this case, the successfully transplanted pancreas with the regulation of sugar, protects the kidney from further damage. Among the more important complications in the recipient of the graft, we can certainly include vascular complications. One of the most important non-invasive methods of early discovery of vascular complications on the pancreas is in the first place ultrasound. Early diagnosis with ultrasound enables timely appropriate treatment and therefore the survival of the transplant. Especially unavoidable and useful in everyday practice is the role of the modern forms of ultrasound such as the Gray-scale sonography, duplex Doppler imaging and sonographic guidance for percutaneous biopsy. Color and Doppler ultrasound have proved themselves in everyday use as a precious source of information for diagnosis of eventual vascular complications and the status of regional vasculature. Early diagnosis resulting from the ultrasound and the concurrent use of other laboratory and clinical findings enables us to timely recognize and preempt the consequences of vascular complications thereby increasing the chances of pancreatic survival.