title: Innovations in pancreas transplantation.
abstract: Pancreas transplantation is currently the curative treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus. It aims at providing physiological insulin replacement therapy in type 1 diabetes mellitus. The goal is thereby also to prevent secondary complications of diabetes. Long term control of glucose metabolism has only been achieved by pancreas transplantation. As a result of improvements in the surgical techniques and the efficacy of immunosuppression, the patient and graft survival rates have improved dramatically over the last 2 decades. As a result, pancreas transplantation, as part of simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation, pancreas after kidney transplantation, and exceptionally pancreas transplantation alone, became the standard therapeutic option for patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus with end-stage renal disease. In this article we review the pancreas transplantation methods, indications, techniques, and the short as well as the long outcomes of treatment.
authors.affiliation: Hepatobiliary and Transplantation Surgeon, Department of Hepatobiliary and Transplantation Surgery, Hamburg University Hospital-Eppendorf, Martini Street 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. haidershurafa@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Haider A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Al-Shurafa
authors.forename: Muaffak T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Jawdat
authors.forename: Atef F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Bassas
authors.forename: Xavier C
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Rogiers
authors.forename: Wolf O
authors.initials: WO
authors.lastname: Bechstein
mesh_terms: D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D016035:Pancreas Transplantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D018579:Patient Selection; D019990:Perioperative Care; D014019:Tissue Donors