What is Kidney Transplant ?
Kidney transplantation involves placing a donor kidney in a healthy person whose kidneys have stopped working. The donor kidney may come from someone who died or from a living donor.
Who is a candidate for the Kidney Transplant procedure ?
Only those who complete and irreversible kidney failure are candidates for this procedure. The most frequent causes of kidney failure are:
# Diabetes
# Glomerulonephritis, which is an inflammation of the cells of kidney filtration
# Polycystic kidney, a condition that causes cysts throughout the kidney
# High blood pressure
# Pyelonephritis, a kidney infection
There are some conditions which totally exclude a transplant. These include:
# The cancer in the last 5 years
# Infections such as tuberculosis or osteomyelitis, an infection of the bone
# Severe heart, lung, liver or problems
Once a person is considered as a transplant candidate, a donor must be found. The situation is better for the donor kidney to come the life of a family member or close friend.
If no living donor can be found, the person may be placed on a national waiting list for a kidney from someone who died. There are currently over 44,000 patients awaiting kidney in the United States. The waiting time can be several years.
What is the Kidney Transplant procedure performed ?
The kidney is removed from the donor in an operating room after the person is put to sleep with anesthesia. If the donor is dead, the kidney is removed along with many other organs are removed for transplant.
The recipient of the kidney transplant is put to sleep with anesthesia. An incision is made in the lower part of the abdomen. The blood vessels in the donor kidney must be connected to the corresponding vessels in the basin of the recipient. The circulation is restored to the donor kidney. The urethra, the tube part of the kidney that carries urine, is connected to the bladder of the recipient. It is usually room for the donor kidney to be implanted without having to remove the patient’s home kidneys. When all the connections were made, the incision is closed.
What happens after the procedure ?
The hospital stay for a donor is about 2 to 3 days. Recovery after surgery is generally uneventful. The person will have a bladder catheter is put in place during surgery. This is usually withdrawn after the first day. The individual is usually in place in and around 24 hours. He or she can resume eating as soon as anesthesia disappear.
The kidney recipients must remain in hospital for 3 to 7 days. A bladder catheter is inserted during surgery. It can usually be removed by the second day after surgery. The recipient can usually resume feeding within 24 hours. He or she should be able to get out of bed and walk as soon as anesthesia disappear.
The recipient of the new body needs to take drugs to suppress the immune system and prevent the body rejecting the new kidney. They are either started immediately before or during the transplant procedure. The patient is monitored closely during the first week or two to determine dosages.
What happens later at home ?
The donor and recipient can expect a recovery.
# Walking, to prevent pulmonary complications and restore strength.
# Heavy lifting and straining should be avoided for 4 to 6 weeks.
# Driving is permitted once the incision is free of pain.
# Sexual activity can be resumed when the person is comfortable.
What are the risks of complications after surgery ?
There are several potential complications:
# Infection, which happens in about 25% of transplant patients.
# Major bleeding, May requiring a blood transfusion.
# Connector blood vessels between the kidney donor and recipient Basin vessels.
# Clot in the artery or vein blood supply to the kidney. If this occurs, the kidney may die.
# Narrowing of the artery in the kidney. This is known as transplant renal artery stenosis. This may limit blood flow to the kidney. It also makes it difficult to keep blood pressure under control. In most cases, reduces the segment can be expanded using a small balloon is inflated which is shrinking.
Leaks connections # ureter to the bladder. This problem is treated by inserting a stent. A stent is a very thin straw-like tube that provides a kind of scaffolding on which tissue can heal.
# Rejection of the kidney. The body of the normal immune response to the new kidney is to reject it. Drugs to suppress the immune system to prevent rejection in most cases.
# Cancer. Between 6% and 8% of transplant patients develop cancer as a complication of drugs that suppress the immune system.
For the most part, kidney transplantation has very good results. Kidney transplant recipients live longer and healthier than what is possible with dialysis treatments. Although there is a greater short-term risk of death associated with the transplant surgery, this risk is outweighed by the long-term effects of continuous dialysis. According to the source and quality of the donor kidney, successful kidney transplant can expect 85% to 95% of the time. A kidney transplant can last an average of 8 to 25 years.
Results of living kidney donors are excellent. The risk of death from kidney donation is less than 4 in 10000. There are almost no long-term risks. Living kidney donors do not need to undergo any medical examination Special to maintain a special diet or take any medication as a result of kidney donation.