Initial Australasian experience with portal-enteric drainage in simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation

Pancreas-kidney transplantation is currently the most effective method to re-establish euglycaemia in insulin-dependent diabetics with associated renal failure. The standard technique employed has been bladder drainage of exocrine secretions coupled with systemic venous drainage ('systemic-bladder' (SB) drainage). The more physiological technique, enteric exocrine with portal venous drainage ('portal-enteric' (PE) drainage), has been utilized sparingly in the past as a result of fears of technical complications. This paper compares the Monash Medical Centre experience with both techniques.

A total of 68 simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantations were performed at Monash Medical Centre from 1991 until 2004. The first 37 received SB drainage. Since March 2001, 27 have received PE drainage. This retrospective study compared the SB group (n= 37) with the PE group (n= 27), with a 2-year follow-up, examining a number of surgical outcomes.

Two-year patient (94.3 versus 96.0%), kidney (89.2 versus 85.2%), pancreas (77.9 versus 71.4%) and event-free (73.0 versus 67.7%) survivals were all similar between the SB and PE groups, respectively. Although surgery took longer in PE subjects (4 h : 47 min ± 0:48 versus 5 h : 16 min ± 1:00; P= 0.045), less intraoperative transfusions were required (1.3 ± 1.43 versus 0.52 ± 0.90; P= 0.024). Length of hospital stay and time to insulin independence were similar. Pancreas graft thrombosis rates were similar (10.8% SB versus 7.4% PE, P= 0.497).

PE drainage is a safe and viable method for pancreas transplantation, which can be performed with excellent outcomes. An increased rate of complications with PE drainage has not been demonstrated in this series.