Transplantation of irradiated heterotopic segmental human pancreas

The results of three irradiated segmental pancreatic autotransplantations in patients with cancer of the pancreatic head are presented. The grafts with ligated ducts were irradiated with 5000 or 2000 rad. Following irradiation, the pancreatic tails that were tumor-free at the section line were autotransplanted by anastomosing the splenic vessels to the common femoral vessels. The first graft (5000 rad) that was necrotic, was removed on the 15th postoperative day and the patient was placed on insulin therapy. The second and third patient (2000 rad) are both alive with functioning grafts without exocrine secretion and with normal carbohydrate metabolism, 7 months and 1 month after transplantation, respectively. Technically, irradiated pancreas transplantation is a feasible procedure, which could be applicable to patients with cancer of the pancreatic head to avoid secondary complications of diabetes after total pancreatectomy, and to patients with juvenile or chronic pancreatitis. It is possible that high-dose irradiation can completely destroy eventual multicenter tumor foci in the pancreatic tail.