Pancreas transplantation. A new program

Sixteen pancreatico-duodenal transplants were performed on 15 insulin-dependent diabetics, aged 25-46, during a 20-month period beginning May 1, 1988. Fourteen patients received a combined cadaveric pancreas/renal transplant with bladder drainage. One patient received a second pancreas transplant 24 hours after the first pancreas graft failed due to portal vein thrombosis. One patient received a pancreas graft 3 years after kidney transplantation. Complications included five cases of hematuria, two bladder leaks, two wound infections, one cytomegalovirus pneumonia, three cases of graft pancreatitis, one pseudocyst, one urine reflux pancreatitis requiring conversion to pancreatico-enterostomy, and two late deaths. Average time to discharge was 17 days following transplant, with 2.9 re-hospitalizations per patient and an average of 38 in-hospital days during the first 6-12 months. Seventeen rejection episodes occurred in 12 patients, diagnosed by declining urine amylase and pH and/or finding of rejection on kidney biopsy. Patient and kidney graft survival is 87 per cent. Pancreas graft survival is 81 per cent (1-20 months follow-up). All patients are insulin-independent and normoglycemic. Mean glycosylated hemoglobin concentration is 4.0 +/- 0.9 post-transplant vs. 7.5 +/- 0.6 pretransplant. Mean serum creatinine is 1.4 +/- 0.7 mg/dl. A new program of pancreas transplantation can be successful in carefully selected diabetic patients, with special attention to avoidance of preservation injury to the pancreas during multiorgan donor procurement. Combined pancreatic/renal transplantation is believed to be the therapeutic treatment of choice in Type I diabetic patients who have impaired renal function and have no significant cardiovascular disease.