Pancreatic transplantation: A review

Pancreatic transplantation recently became a routine treatment for Type I diabetic patients with uremia or for those who previously received a kidney transplant with 1 year graft and patient survival of over 80% and 90%, respectively. Despite the life-long need for immunosuppression, this is clearly acceptable when compared to the need for dialysis and insulin therapy, and it reduces the evolution of diabetic complications. Isolated pancreatic transplant is less commonly applied because of the need for immunosuppression and the high rate of complications. However, this can still be an acceptable option for individual patients with brittle diabetes and hypoglycemic unawareness. Despite the fact that pancreas transplantation is an effective treatment for selected Type I diabetics, it remains a difficult surgical procedure with many potential complications and with several issues still subject to debate. In this article, the authors describe the procedure in all of its aspects and variations, and offer, through a review of the recent literature, insights on the current status of this transplant.