Successful pancreas transplantation allows the body to make and secrete its own insulin, and establishes insulin independence for these patients.
Replacing the duodenum allows the pancreas to drain into the gastrointestinal system.
Pancreas transplantation is a surgical procedure in which a diseased pancreas is replaced with a healthy pancreas that has been obtained from an immunologically compatible cadavear or living donor.
Patients receiving a pancreas transplantation are monitored closely for organ rejection.
Among these individuals, the best candidates for pancreas transplantation are typically between the ages of 20 and 40.
Pancreas transplantation allows the body to once again make and secrete its own insulin, and establishes insulin independence for these individuals.
The pancreas and duodenum (part of the small intestine) are removed.
Once the new pancreas is in place, the abdomen and skin are sutured closed.
Once transplanted, the new islet cells make and release insulin. Islet cell transplantation is primarily a treatment method for type 1 (juvenile) diabetes, but it can also be used to treat patients who have had their pancreas removed or.
The surgeon makes an incision under the ribs and locates the pancreas and duodenum.
The first pancreas transplantation was performed in 1966 by the team of Dr. Kelly, Dr. Lillehei, Dr.Merkel, Dr.Idezuki Y, & Dr. Goetz, three years after the first kidney transplantation.[4] A pancreas along with kidney and duodenum was transplanted into a 28-year-old woman and her blood sugar levels decreased immediately after transplantation, but eventually she died three months later from pulmonary embolism. In 1979 the first living-related partial pancreas transplantation was done.
The new pancreas and duodenum are then connected to the patient's duodenum, and the blood vessels are sutured together to restore blood flow to the new pancreas.
Pancreatic islet cell transplantation involves taking the cells that produce insulin from a second source such as a donor pancreas and transplanting them into a patient.