Selected aspects of pancreas transplantation in patients with type I diabetes mellitus. Based on reports from the 14 th Congress of the European Society for Organ Transplantation in Paris in 2009

Abstract

Although the number of pancreas transplantations performed worldwide in patients with type I diabetes mellitus complications exceeded 28,000, difficulties related to this organ transplantation remain a challenge for modern transplantation medicine. Constant organs shortage forces transplant teams to transplant pancreata previously not accepted. Older recipients with long lasting diabetes mellitus referred to transplantation require more careful preoperative diagnostics. Due to asymptomatic course of the majority of pancreas rejection episodes and low specificity of laboratory markers of this process, in order to estimate lesions in transplanted organ biopsy is performed more and more often. Intraabdominal infections that develop after pancreas transplantation are still severe hazard to transplanted patient. Worse results observed in patients who lost pancreatic graft are the reason of considering retransplantation of the pancreas. On the other hand constant progress in the field of immunosuppression allows for application of treatment protocols adjusted to individual requirements of the patient. The aim of the paper is to present problems related to solid pancreas transplantation presented at the 14. Congress of the European Society for Organ Transplantation in Paris in 2009.