Pancreas transplantation in the new millennium: the Indiana University experience

Pancreas transplantation is one of the great challenges of modern abdominal transplantation. Success relies on a dedicated group of individuals, working together at all levels of care, to demonstrate experience and expertise from the pre-transplant evaluation to long-term followup. The pancreas transplant program at Indiana University is currently one of the most active in the Nation. With increased activity, we have begun to accept more complicated recipients including older and more obese individuals, retransplant candidates, and recipients with atherosclerotic diseases. We have been able to modify the operation in order to make it safer for recipients and we have documented our complications in the literature along with strategies and suggestions to avoid and manage them. Overall, we have found this to be an extremely grateful patient population and a very rewarding experience.