Surgical Aspects of Pancreas Transplantation

According to the International Pancreas Transplantation Registry’s 2000 Midyear Update, the number of pancreas transplants performed worldwide has steadily increased since 1995. Pancreas graft survival rates at 1 year now range between 70% for pancreas transplant alone (PTA) recipients and 85% for simultaneous pancreas and kidney (SPK) recipients.1 These excellent, much improved outcomes have been achieved thanks to a marked decrease in immunologic graft loss and in technical failures over the last 10 years.