Once a pancreas (or kidney and pancreas, if applicable) has been secured for you, you must begin preparing for surgery. You will be instructed to go to the NYU admitting office.
You should not eat or drink immediately prior to surgery unless cleared to do so by your transplant coordinator.
It is very important that you are healthy for your surgery. If you have a cold, flu or any other type of infection or sickness, your transplant surgery may need to be postponed. Once you arrive at the hospital, you will have a chest x-ray, electrocardiogram, urinalysis, and blood work done to assess your current health.
An anesthesiologist will discuss your anesthesia care with you. You may be asked to shower with a medicated soap. You will receive antibiotics intravenously (IV) just before you go to the operating room.
While you are being prepared for surgery, a team of surgeons is working to remove the organ(s) from the donor. In most instances, everything is found to be suitable and the transplant proceeds as scheduled. On rare occasions the surgeon may find something that makes the organ unsuitable for transplant. In this case your operation will be postponed. While we understand this can be disappointing, it is critical that we obtain the best organ possible for you to avoid complications.
A pancreas can be transplanted several ways. Most often, the donor pancreas and a small piece of the intestine (called the duodenum) is attached to the bladder so the digestive juices your pancreas produces can be excreted with urine. This allows monitoring for rejection through urine tests. The pancreas can also be attached to the small bowel. In addition to the pancreas, blood vessels are also attached. This allows the insulin produced by the pancreas to be secreted into the bloodstream.
Your own pancreas will remain in place after the transplant because it still functions in many important ways.
The transplant surgeon will notify your family when the procedure is completed. They may be able to see you for a few minutes immediately following the surgery.
