Heart Lung Heart/Lung Kidney Pancreas Kidney/Pancreas Liver Intestine

During the Transplant

Pancreas

Arriving at the Hospital

The process of being admitted and preparing for transplant surgery can vary greatly. Talk to your physician about how your transplant hospital will handle this phase of the process.

The Procedure

Although it is possible for a living donor to donate an intestine segment, most intestine transplants involve a whole organ from a deceased donor. In addition, most intestine transplants are performed in conjunction with a liver transplant.

Although it is possible for a living donor to donate a pancreas segment, most pancreas transplants involve a whole organ from a deceased donor. After the donor pancreas is removed, preserved and packed for transport, it must be transplanted into the recipient within twelve to fifteen hours. The pancreas transplant recipient is first given general anesthesia and is placed on a ventilator and an incision is made in the lower abdomen. The diseased pancreas is not removed during the operation. The donor pancreas is inserted in the lower portion of the patient's abdomen and attached to their blood vessels, and intestine or bladder.

The whole organ pancreas surgical procedure takes approximately two to four hours to complete. Because the length of this surgery is different for every patient, families should talk with the surgeon about what to expect.

During Recovery

Postoperative care begins with a team of heath professionals within the hospital. Careful, comprehensive post-surgical monitoring constantly evaluates whether the body is accepting the new organ. In addition, the amount of time you spend in the recovery room, waking up and getting to the point that you're ready to go home, will vary from patient to patient. Because individual experience after recovery is so unique, it is important to discuss with your physician what to expect after surgery.

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