Kidney Transplant
Alternate Names : Renal Transplant, Transplantation of the Kidney
What happens later at home?
The donor and the recipient can expect a similar recovery.
Walking is encouraged to prevent lung complications and to restore strength.
Heavy lifting and straining should be avoided for 4 to 6 weeks.
Driving is permitted once the person's incision is pain free.
Sexual activity can be resumed when the person is comfortable.
What are the potential complications after the procedure?
There are several potential complications:
infection, which happens in roughly 25% of transplant recipients.
major bleeding, which may require a blood transfusion.
problems with the blood vessel connections between the donor kidney and the recipient's pelvic vessels.
clot in the artery or vein supplying blood to the kidney. If this happens, the kidney may die.
narrowing of the artery within the kidney. This is known as transplant renal artery stenosis. This can limit blood flow to the kidney. It also makes it difficult to keep blood pressure under control. Most of the time, the narrowed segment can be expanded using a small balloon that is inflated where the narrowing is.
leaky ureter connections to the bladder. This problem is treated by inserting a stent. A stent is a very thin, straw-like tube that provides a kind of scaffolding around which tissues can heal.
kidney rejection. The body's normal immune response to the new kidney is to reject it. Drugs to suppress the immune system prevent rejection in most cases.
cancer. Between 6% and 8% of transplant recipients develop cancer as a complication of the drugs that suppress the immune system.
For the most part, kidney transplantation has very good results. Kidney transplant recipients live longer, healthier lives than is possible with dialysis treatments. Although there is a greater short-term risk of death associated with the transplant surgery, this risk is outweighed by the long-term effects of continuous dialysis. Depending on the source and quality of the donor kidney, a successful outcome for kidney transplant can be expected 85% to 95% of the time. A kidney transplant can last an average of 8 to 25 years.
Outcomes for living kidney donors are excellent. The risk of death from kidney donation is less than 4 in 10,000. There are almost no long-term risks. Living kidney donors do not need to undergo any special medical testing, maintain any special diet, or take any medications as a result of kidney donation.
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