Simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation in type 1 diabetes

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • C. Morath - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • B. Schmied - , General Surgery (Author)
  • A. Mehrabi - , General Surgery (Author)
  • J. Weitz - , Department of Visceral, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, General Surgery (Author)
  • J. Schmidt - , General Surgery (Author)
  • J. Werner - , General Surgery (Author)
  • M. W. Buchler - , General Surgery (Author)
  • M. Morcos - , Endocrinology (Author)
  • P. P. Nawroth - , Department of Internal Medicine I (Author)
  • V. Schwenger - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • B. Doehler - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • G. Opelz - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • M. Zeier - , Heidelberg University  (Author)

Abstract

The outcome of simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplantation in type 1 diabetes has dramatically improved in recent years because of optimized surgical techniques and new immunosuppressive drug regimens. Normoglycemia is followed by stabilization or even regression of diabetic lesions, i.e., of heart and kidneys. However, these effects are only visible after more than five yr of normoglycemia (achieved by a functioning allograft). This is also a likely explanation for the conflicting results of studies that investigated patient or kidney graft survival in SPK transplantation compared to kidney transplantation alone. Most studies had too short follow-up periods, i.e., less than five yr, to compare effectively different transplant strategies in patients with type 1 diabetes and therefore failed to discover a survival benefit in favor of simultaneously transplanted patients. Recent data now indicate that, with a longer follow-up, there is an increasing survival benefit for simultaneously transplanted patients compared to patients who received a single kidney transplant. This is paralleled by the comparison of simultaneously transplanted patients to patients who received a single kidney transplant from a living donor. A survival benefit for the combined procedure was here visible after 10 yr of follow-up. We give a short overview on SPK transplantation, with a focus on the effects of this procedure on diabetic complications as well as patient and kidney graft survival.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)115-120
Number of pages6
JournalClinical Transplantation
Volume23
Issue numberSUPPL.21
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2009
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 19930324

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation, Type I diabetes mellitus