Kidney transplant: What it is, types and phases
The kidney transplant is a surgical treatment in which a healthy kidney, obtained from a living donor or deceased donor, implanted to a patient with implanted chronic renal disease, to replace the functions performed by the damaged kidney and avoid performing dialysis, says best nephrologist in Delhi.
ANATOMY AND FUNCTION OF THE KIDNEYS
According to top kidney specialist in Delhi, the kidneys are organs that have the shape of a bean and measure about 12 centimetres long, they are on both sides of the spine, in the so-called lumbar fossa, in retroperitoneal position and protected by the ribs. The function of these organs is to purify the blood and maintain the hydro-electrolytic balance. In addition, they are responsible for the synthesis of hormones such as erythropoietin.
TYPES OF KIDNEY TRANSPLANT
We can classify renal transplantation according to the type of donor (living or deceased).
Kidney transplant from a living donor
In living donor kidney transplantation, the donor is usually a relative of the patient who wishes to donate a kidney. This type of transplant has many advantages as it is done with prior preparation of both the donor and the recipient and the surgery is scheduled in an elective way, which minimizes the risks. In addition, it can be carried out in patients in pre-dialysis, obtaining better results, says nephrologist in Gurgaon.
Kidney transplant from a deceased donor
As the name suggests, in the deceased donor kidney transplant, the donor is lifeless. There are different types of deceased donor: brain death and death due to cardiac arrest. In this case it is an unscheduled surgery. According to nephrologist in Noida, Generally, patients on the list for renal transplantation must undergo dialysis, the duration of the substitution treatment will depend on the characteristics of the patient: blood group and age. The patient should wait for the transplant to reach the most suitable kidney on a waiting list.
PHASES OF KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION IN DELHI
Before the transplant
All candidates for kidney transplantation should be visited by the doctors of the transplant team: nephrologist, urologist, transplant coordinator and anaesthetist. You must perform a series of tests to confirm the feasibility of the surgery and its compatibility.
The day of the transplant
In a live donor transplant
If it is a live donor transplant, the surgery is scheduled. In this case, the patient will enter the day before it.
Both the donor and the recipient will go to the operating room simultaneously and the intervention will be performed in contiguous operating rooms.
In a deceased donor transplant
In the case of renal transplantation from a deceased donor, after obtaining a potential organ, patients will be compared to the waiting list and the most appropriate patient will be selected based on it. The doctor on call will call the patient candidate who must go to the hospital in the shortest possible time to perform the compatibility test (crossmatch) and proceed later to the intervention.
SURGICAL TECHNIQUE OF THE KIDNEY TRANSPLANTATION
During surgery, the doctor for kidney transplant in Delhi places the new kidney in the lower abdomen (usually on the right side), through a club-shaped incision. Subsequently, it connects the artery and vein of the kidney to the iliac vessels (vessels that carry and collect blood from the legs) of the recipient. Next, the connection of the ureter (the tube that carries the urine) to the urinary bladder is made.
The kidney often produces urine immediately, but sometimes it may take a few weeks to start functioning, and may even require some dialysis sessions, says kidney transplant doctor in Delhi.