[Thrombocytosis following pancreas transplantation]

Thrombosis of the pancreas transplant is one of the main causes for the lower success rate of this procedure compared with that of other organ transplantations. Approximately one quarter of the pancreas transplantations discussed in this study are unsuccessful for this reason. This work is a retrospective study focusing on the postoperative blood platelet counts from 19 patients with a combined pancreas and kidney transplant, functioning well for at least 1.5 months. 19 patients with only a kidney transplantation with similar distribution of sex, age and postoperative immunosuppressive treatment were observed as a control group. After pancreas transplantation the platelet counts increased considerably and were found to be far above the normal level. There are no proven pathophysiological explanations for this thrombocytosis. Because of an increased risk of thrombosis, we recommend to use platelet inhibitors during the first two postoperative months.