Receiving a kidney transplant often marks the end of a long and distressing wait for a donor organ. By this time, patients and their families have been educated about a patient’s aftercare regimen: the immediate recovery process, the necessary diet and lifestyle changes, and the long-term medication plan. Unfortunately, even when all directions are followed, there’s a chance that other complications can arise. Learning about potential obstacles after transplant surgery can help patients prepare for difficult outcomes.
Organ rejection
It’s common for kidney transplant patients to receive organs from family members, which significantly decreases the chances that the organ will be rejected. However, there are still cases in which a patient’s body rejects the organ. Acute rejection and chronic rejection are similar, but treatment for each condition differs substantially. Acute rejection can occur shortly after surgery, but sometimes develops as late as a year afterward. Early recognition and treatment can improve organ function, and may or may not require removal of the kidney. For chronic rejection, however, the deterioration of organ function develops steadily and over a longer period of time. Anti-rejection drugs tend not to be as effective in treatment of chronic rejection, and may require removal of the kidney. Research to reduce organ rejection continues in medical centers like IU Health in Indianapolis, IN, where improving the diagnosis and treatment of organ rejection is one focus of research.
Vascular complications
Serious vascular complications are relatively uncommon, but they can pose a critical risk to patients recovering from surgery. Renal vein thrombosis (clotting) can occur when the patient has low blood volume, or when surgical techniques damage a vein. Symptoms include edema (swelling) in the lower limbs, and low or no production of urine. Renal vein thrombosis usually occurs a day or two after surgery, and is often treated quickly; in many cases, however, removal of the kidney is necessary.
Hospital errors
Despite meticulous testing of both the transplant patient and his donor, unexpected problems can make the transplant process more difficult or even dangerous for the patient. In May of this year, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UMPC) revealed that a transplant patient received a kidney from a donor who was infected with Hepatitis C. UMPC temporarily terminated their transplant program voluntarily to better define testing protocols. Patients and their families are routinely educated about the risks of organ transplants, but situations like this still pose some risks.
Obviously, every surgical procedure poses some risk. But transplant procedures have unique challenges during surgery and post surgery while being sure to take the needed medications. Discovering the potential problems with kidney transplant surgery can seem discouraging, but patients who work with their doctors and medical teams can help themselves to be well informed. Some patients never encounter these complications—but for those who do, being informed is an important part of recovery.
Nice information you shared with us. A disease, disorder, or a congenital condition may damage the kidneys. Chronic Glomerulonephritis, Diabetes, Hypertension, and Cystic renal disease are the most common causes of ESRD.