Update of pancreas transplantation. Experience of the Hospital Doce de Octubre

Abstract

Pancreas transplantation (PT) is considered as the only treatment that can convert a diabetic patient in a euglucemic state without the use of insulin or oral antidiabetic drugs. From 1996 to the end of 2016, more than 50,000 PT were performed in USA, and in Spain were performed 1.730 PT during the last 10 years. In this review we will perform an update of PT considering the introduction of several advances in the last years, adding our accumulated experience from the beginning of our program in the year 1995. The first PT was carried out in the Hospital of the University of Minnesota, and from that date several significant improvements have been introduced along the time due to advances in surgical technique in pancreas donors and recipients, perioperative management of patients, and introduction of more potent immunosuppressors able to reduce the rejection rate under 20%. Although PT is a therapy associated with a higher morbidity (pancreas graft thrombosis, systemic and intraabdominal infections, anastomotic leakages, etc.), currently most of the PT teams have obtained a rate of 93% of patient survival at 3-years, and between 78% and 83% of graft survival at 3-years. Additionally, the normal pancreas graft function is associated with an improvement of quality of life and most of complications related to diabetes, without the necessity to treat with antidiabetics drugs or insulin.