Why choose our SPK transplant surgeons?
Surgical knowledge: Our transplant surgeons are board-certified and have completed additional training to provide the best results possible to patients receiving an SPK transplant. Many have completed fellowships at some of the most prestigious medical schools in the country.
What is the process for getting an SPK transplant?
First, your transplant team performs a thorough evaluation to determine your current health status. You’ll also need lab work and certain medical tests, like an EKG and a chest X-ray. If an SPK transplant would be safe and effective for you, we’ll place you on the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) transplant waiting list.
What is a simultaneous pancreas and kidney (SPK) transplant?
For some of those with insulin-dependent diabetes the option exists of having a simultaneous pancreas and kidney (SPK) transplant. For many patients who receive a SPK transplant, life is completely transformed for the better. A simultaneous pancreas and kidney (SPK) transplant is a big operation.
How do I contact MUSC Health for more information about SPK transplant?
For more information about SPK transplant, or to speak with a Transplant Coordinator, please contact MUSC Health at 800-277-8687.
How long does SPK transplant take?
The transplant operation lasts longer (four to eight hours on average) and involves two separate transplanting teams: one team preparing the pancreas for implantation and a separate team preparing the patient for the pancreas transplant. After the pancreas is transplanted, the kidney is then implanted.
What is the success rate of pancreas transplant?
What is the success rate for pancreas transplantation? Pancreas transplant is successful in about 90 percent of patients who no longer have to take insulin injections within the first year following the surgery.
How long can you live with a pancreas transplant?
The outlook for people with a pancreas transplant is usually good. Most people live for many years, or even decades, after a pancreas transplant. Virtually everyone will live at least a year afterwards, and almost 9 in 10 will live at least 5 years.
How long does it take to recover from a kidney and pancreas transplant?
You should be able to return to most of your normal activities after a pancreas transplant, although this can take a while. You may need a few months off work. Your stitches will need to be taken out at around 3 weeks.
What happens if your body rejects a pancreas transplant?
If rejection occurs, you may experience some mild symptoms, although some patients may continue to feel fine for a while. The most common early symptoms include: fever greater than 100° F or 38° C, increased pancreas function tests, tenderness over the graft and later even increased glucose levels.
What happens if a pancreas transplant fails?
If a pancreas transplant fails, the patient will need to return to managing their diabetes with insulin injections and intense blood glucose monitoring.
What is the hardest organ to transplant?
Lungs are the most difficult organ to transplant because they are highly susceptible to infections in the late stages of the donor's life. They can sustain damage during the process of recovering them from the donor or collapse after surgeons begin to ventilate them after transplant.
Is a pancreas transplant worth it?
Why it's done. A pancreas transplant can restore insulin production and improve blood sugar control in people with diabetes, but it's not a standard treatment. The side effects of the anti-rejection medications required after a pancreas transplant can often be serious.
Can your pancreas start working again?
The pancreas can be triggered to regenerate itself through a type of fasting diet, say US researchers. Restoring the function of the organ - which helps control blood sugar levels - reversed symptoms of diabetes in animal experiments. The study, published in the journal Cell, says the diet reboots the body.
How long does a person stay in the hospital after a kidney transplant?
If you're receiving a kidney from a living donor – the usual stay is 4 to 6 days. If you're receiving a kidney from a deceased donor - most patients stay in hospital for 6 to 10 days.
Is kidney transplant painful?
You can expect a good deal of pain and soreness near the incision site while you're first healing. While you're in the hospital, your doctors will monitor you for complications. They'll also put you on a strict schedule of immunosuppressant drugs to stop your body from rejecting the new kidney.
Do you need dialysis after kidney transplant?
After a successful kidney transplant, your new kidney will filter your blood, and you will no longer need dialysis. To prevent your body from rejecting your donor kidney, you'll need medications to suppress your immune system.
What type of diabetes is needed for a SPK?
Transplant candidates must have a documented medical history of insulin-dependent diabetes. Most people who have an SPK transplant have type 1 diabetes that began in childhood. Typically, transplant candidates have a history of other diabetes complications, including diabetic retinopathy, diabetic neuropathy, diabetic gastroparesis, ...
What is simultaneous pancreas kidney transplant?
Simultaneous Pancreas-Kidney Transplant. For many people, living with insulin-dependent diabetes is more than an inconvenience – it’s a life-changing issue involving a host of other complications. For some, these complications include kidney failure that dialysis and other treatment cannot correct. A simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) ...
Can you get a kidney from a deceased donor?
The pancreas for your transplant will come from a deceased donor, but either a living donor or a deceased donor can provide the kidney. A living donor kidney typically functions better, and receiving a kidney from a living donor may reduce your waiting time. Learn more about our kidney Living Donor Program.
Can you have a pancreas and kidney transplant at the same time?
A simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplant may be an excellent option for individuals with insulin-dependent diabetes who also have advanced chronic kidney failure. In this procedure, expert surgeons at MUSC Health transplant a pancreas and a kidney at the same time. This lifesaving surgery allows people to live free ...
Simultaneous Pancreas-Kidney Transplant Process
After a thorough evaluation, if you’re a good candidate for simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant—for some people, now the preferred treatment for kidney failure due to diabetes—you’ll be placed on a priority waiting list. The average wait for a two-organ donation is two to three years.
Doctor Profiles
The following doctors are part of the Sutter Health network. Learn about the doctors on this site.
What happens after a SPK transplant?
After a SPK transplant you may get an infection in surgical wound, abdomen or urine. These infections can usually be treated with antibiotics, but sometimes another operation or drain placement is needed.
What are the side effects of a SPK transplant?
This medication has side effects including an increased risk of infection and, in the longer term, cancer, particularly skin cancer. Other side effects include a higher risk of high blood pressure, and high cholesterol (a fatty substance found in the body that can cause narrowing of the blood vessels). While you are in hospital, the transplant pharmacist will talk to you about these possible side effects and how to monitor and manage them. For example, using high factor sun block cream to reduce the risk of skin cancers. At your transplant follow-up clinics we will check your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.
How many SPKs need a second operation?
Between 5 and 10 out of 100 SPK might need a further operation to address bleeding or evacuate old blood. Bleeding that may require a second operation is more common after a SPK than a kidney transplant alone.
How long does it take for a kidney transplant to work?
About 75 out of 100 kidney transplants from deceased donors start to work within a few hours of surgery. If this doesn’t happen, (delayed graft function or sleepy kidney), you will need dialysis until the new kidney starts working. This may be a few days or sometimes a few weeks. If you have a sleepy kidney, you many need a kidney biopsy (where a tiny piece of tissue is removed from your kidney with a needle and examined under a microscope) to make sure that there are no other problems with the kidney.
What is a pancreas only transplant?
A pancreas-only transplant is performed on patients with type I diabetes and no kidney problems. This transplant is performed on patients with type I diabetes and end stage renal disease. Sometimes, a patient who has type I diabetes and end stage renal disease will have a living kidney donor. In this case, the kidney transplant is performed first, ...
How long does it take to recover from pancreas transplant?
Pancreas transplant surgery typically takes four to six hours. After surgery, you’ll be placed in the intensive care unit for initial recovery; subsequently you’ll be moved to the transplant unit for the remainder of your recovery. The average post-transplant hospital stay is about two weeks.
Can a diabetic have a living kidney donor?
Sometimes, a patient who has type I diabetes and end stage renal disease will have a living kidney donor. In this case, the kidney transplant is performed first, using the living donor's kidney. Then, the patient waits for a deceased donor pancreas to become available.
