As one of the most active centers in the Northeast,
the Saint Barnabas Health Care System Renal Transplant Program
at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center has further demonstrated
its commitment to medical excellence with the introduction
of a pancreas transplant program.
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center now offers
people with kidney disease and diabetes two pancreas transplant
alternatives:
- Pancreas After Kidney (PAK) transplantation
allows patients to receive a kidney transplant as their
first choice of therapy if a suitable living kidney donor
is available or if they have previously undergone a successful
kidney transplant. This process may be preferable given
the high long-term success rate of living kidney transplantation
and the relatively long wait for a deceased donor. Patients
are then offered the option of pancreas transplantation
after successful kidney transplantation. If a patient
has already undergone kidney transplantation, either
through a living donor or deceased donor, he/she can
be evaluated for PAK.
- Simultaneous Pancreas/Kidney (SPK)
transplantation may be the procedure of choice in the
event that the patient does not have a living kidney
donor available. In this procedure, both a kidney and
a pancreas from a deceased donor are transplanted into
the recipient at the same time.
Whether the pancreas is transplanted at the
same time as the kidney or sometime after the kidney, the
results are the same, explains Stuart Geffner, MD, Director
of Transplant Surgery, Saint Barnabas Health Care System. “A
pancreas transplant offers individuals with diabetes control
of their blood sugar without the use of insulin or dietary
restrictions. And there is good evidence that a transplanted
pancreas can delay, prevent or in some cases reverse the
debilitating effects of diabetes, such as retinopathy, neuropathy
and vascular problems,” he said.
While pancreas transplant may be a viable treatment
for many, the following criteria have been established for
selecting candidates. Patients must:
- Have type I (juvenile) diabetes as
the underlying disease
- Have evidence of advanced kidney
disease
- Be less than 55 years old
- Have had minimal abdominal surgery
- Be free of advanced secondary complications
of diabetes, such as blindness, amputation, or severe
vascular disease
- Previous kidney transplant with well-established
renal function
Patients are eligible before beginning dialysis
or while on hemo or peritoneal dialysis. “Our goal
is to provide the most up-to-date treatment alternatives
to patients. With a program like this at Newark Beth Israel
Medical Center, patients no longer have to travel great distances
for quality care,” Dr. Geffner added.
Those interested in learning more about pancreas
transplantation should call the Renal Transplant Center at
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center at (973) 926-7568.
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