Things you should know about Pancreas Transplant
Pancreas is pear-shaped organ situated in the lower section of the abdomen, just below the first part of the duodenum responsible for the production of hormone insulin, which regulates the production of glucose when the function of pancreas get altered it can lead to high sugar level in the blood which can be a dangerous situation that can lend the patient even into coma or death.
A pancreas transplant even though is done in uncontrolled cases of type 1 diabetes but is not a universal system of treatment as the chances of rejection by the body are very high and the medication required postoperative are for the lifetime with much side effects. But in some cases still pancreas transplant is considered like:
-> Poor blood sugar control even after constant medication
-> Frequent reactions of insulin
-> Uncontrolled type 1 diabetes
Pancreatitis: chronic alcohol consumption can lead to the development of chronic pancreatitis and usually affects males from 30 to 40 year of age, this lead to disturbed pancreatic enzyme production.
Pancreatic cancer formed from the exocrine tissue of the organ, the tumor is hard to have early diagnosis due to its asymptomatic nature.
In cases of type 2, diabetes pancreas transplant is not that much useful as the production of insulin is proper but there is an inability to consume the insulin for sugar metabolism.
In cases with severe damage as an aftereffect of diabetes (diabetic nephropathy), a kidney transplant is often combined with pancreas transplant to increase the prognosis of the procedure, which also reduces the pancreas related further damage to their kidneys but in an ideal case, a pancreatic transplant should be done prior to the kidney damage. A successfully performed pancreas transplant bring back the normal blood glucose level and further damage to a various organ can be controlled or even reversed back in certain cases.
Precautions
In cases where the transplants are done in the tertiary stage of uncontrolled sugar levels, a thorough examination of other organs like kidneys, eyes, liver, and heart should be done as most likely changes occur in these organs also as the result of hyperglycemia.
Current status of transplant in India
In contrary to the current status of transplant all over the world, the number is still very slow in India, but the situation is constantly changing with the development of new very well equipped pancreas transplant hospital in India.
Prognosis
Many changes that occur after the pancreatic transplant, stability of blood sugar level is one of them, with no longer required of constant insulin support through injectables patient can take an easy breath and live their life and have active lifestyle too. But along with this, there is a constant risk of hypoglycemia as your body was habitual to a higher value, so a keen postoperative eye with regular blood glucose monitoring is required. Even though the patient is required to take lifetime supplements of immune-suppressant to prevent self organ rejection, constant checkups are required to avoid further complications.
Currently, 100 transplants have been performed so far with many renowned pancreas transplant hospital are now providing cost-effective facility in their campuses.
