title: [Kidney procurement and transplantation from a surgical perspective].
abstract: Kidney transplantation is the best therapeutic option in many patients with end-stage renal disease, because it significantly increases lifespan over that of patients who remain on dialysis. Because of organ shortage the average waiting time for a suitable kidney in Germany is about four years after the onset of dialysis treatment. Currently about 80% of all transplanted kidneys are obtained from brain-dead patients. The possibility for kidney transplantation after living donation reduces the minimum waiting time to a few weeks. An optimized organizational strategy as well as donor and recipient preparation are possible in living donation, resulting in excellent transplant quality and a short cold-ischemia time. Pre-emptive kidney transplantation after living donation is an attractive treatment option without the need for previous dialysis and is also an option for children. The excellent long-term results after kidney transplantation have been caused by improvement of operative technique, organizational strategy, donor preparation, postoperative care and, in particular, immunosuppression.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Allgemein-, Viszeral- und Transplantationschirurgie, Universitätsklinikum Essen, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heuer
authors.forename: N R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Frühauf
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Treckmann
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Witzke
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Kaiser
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000628:therapy*; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D019520:Living Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000600:supply & distribution; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000592:standards*; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014850:Waiting Lists
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents