[Renal transplantation. 1st year's experience at a new center]

The initial activity in the field of organ transplantation always brings some organizational and medical difficulties. We describe the first year experience in the field of kidney transplantation at the Transplantation Unit of Padua University. Sixteen kidney transplants from cadaver donors have been performed. A double drug therapy (cyclosporine and steroids) as immunosuppression was used in 9 patients and a triple drug protocol (cyclosporine, steroids, azathioprine) was used in 7. Two patients also received monoclonal antibodies because of steroid resistant rejection. The technical problems we observed include one case of ureteral duplication corrected with uretero-ureteral anastomosis and one substenosis of an ureteral cystoanastomosis corrected with endoscopic dilatation. Among the complications related to immunosuppressive therapy we had one case of severe cyclosporine nephrotoxicity. Two patients died after few months with a functional graft because of pulmonary embolism and because of severe hepatitis complicated by pancreatitis. At an average of six months follow-up all the remaining patients have a good functioning graft.