Practical reduction of transplantation costs. Use of commercial transportation instead of charter aircraft for sharing pancreas grafts.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate cost savings in pancreas transplantation through use of commercial organ transportation. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Independent Organ Procurement Organization, Denver, Colo. SUBJECTS: Forty-three consecutive pancreas grafts recovered by Colorado transplantation surgeons and transported via charter aircraft (53.4%) or commercial airlines (46.6%) to transplantation centers outside Colorado. MEASUREMENTS: Actuarial graft survival at 1 year was calculated. Transportation costs were also obtained. MAIN RESULTS: Transportation of organs via charter aircraft cost an average of $3658.37 compared with an average of $102.40 for commercial airline transportation (average cost difference, $3555.97). Graft survival was 73.9% for chartered grafts vs 80.0% for commercially shipped grafts. Mean preservation times were 13 hours 54 minutes for chartered grafts vs 17 hours 50 minutes for commercial transportation. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrated a significant cost savings when pancreas grafts were transported via commercial airlines instead of chartered aircraft. These cost savings were obtained without negative sequelae in clinical outcome, encouraging widespread use of commercial airlines for transporting shared pancreas grafts.

Renal artery stenosis after renal transplantation: the impact of the hypogastric artery anastomosis.

A review of 402 renal allotransplants performed during a 5-year period revealed 25 cases of transplant renal artery stenosis in 377 evaluable patients. To our knowledge this is the first large study of this transplant complication in which all patients received cyclosporine immunotherapy. The incidence of transplant renal artery stenosis was 6.6%. The mean internal from transplantation to onset of transplant renal artery stenosis was 11 months. No significant differences in atherosclerotic risk factors were detected between the groups with and without transplant renal artery stenosis. The incidence of acute allograft rejection was not increased in the stenosis group. There was no difference in the incidence of transplant renal artery stenosis following end-to-end (hypogastric artery) or end-to-side (common or external iliac artery) arterial anastomoses. Among patients having end-to-end hypogastric artery anastomoses the incidence of transplant renal artery stenosis was significantly greater (p < 0.01) when endarterectomy was required to render the hypogastric artery suitable for use. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty was performed in 20 patients and open repair was performed in 18. After percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of hypogastric artery anastomoses, more additional procedures were required and there was a higher allograft loss rate when compared to percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of the external iliac artery. These data suggest that treatment of transplant renal artery stenosis in patients with end-to-end hypogastric artery anastomosis is more difficult and results in a higher morbidity rate than treatment in the external iliac artery group.

Extravesical versus Leadbetter-Politano ureteroneocystostomy: a comparison of urological complications in 320 renal transplants.

The urological complications of 320 consecutive renal transplants performed at our institution between October 17, 1985 and November 10, 1989 are reviewed. The Leadbetter-Politano technique of ureteroneocystostomy was used in the first 160 patients (group 1) and an anterior extravesical technique modified from the methods of Witzel, Sampson and Lich was performed in the second 160 patients (group 2). Urological complications occurred in 15 patients (9.4%) in group 1 and 6 (3.7%) in group 2 (p = 0.04). Ureterovesical junction obstruction occurred in 6 patients (3.7%) in group 1 and 1 (0.6%) in group 2 (p = 0.05). Complications of leakage, ureteral necrosis and ureteral stricture were comparable in the 2 groups. Therefore, we advocate the use of the anterior extravesical technique over Leadbetter-Politano ureteral reimplantation based on the lower incidence of urological complications and various technical advantages, including less operative time, avoidance of a separate cystotomy, less hematuria and ability to use short donor ureters.

Identification of donor factors predisposing to high discard rates of cadaver kidneys and increased graft loss within one year posttransplantation--SEOPF 1977-1982. South-Eastern Organ Procurement Foundation.

From 1977 to 1982, the South-Eastern Organ Procurement Foundation (SEOPF) conducted a prospective study to determine the fate of all cadaver kidneys retrieved by member institutions. During the study period, 6152 kidneys were retrieved, 1264 being discarded. Donor factors predisposing to wastage included AB and A blood groups, donor age greater than 30, hospitalization greater than 3 days, serum creatinine greater than 2.0 mg%, average systolic blood pressure less than 80, last-hour urine output less than 100 ml, proteinuria, heart not beating at time of nephrectomy, and kidneys not removed en bloc. Donor factors affecting graft survival rate at one year include age, length of hospitalization, last-hour urine output, and changing serum creatinine. The data suggest that certain donor kidneys are less likely than others to be transplanted depending on donor characteristics and retrieval practices. Furthermore, some of these factors have a negative impact on long-term success when kidneys are transplanted.

Brown tumor in secondary hyperparathyroidism causing acute paraplegia.

The first known case of a "brown tumor" associated with secondary hyperparathyroidism causing paraplegia is described. A 69-year-old white woman with chronic renal failure due to hypertension was admitted for back pain, and while she was under observation, paraplegia developed. A complete block was demonstrated by myelography. Computed tomography confirmed a mass at the level of obstruction, and results of biopsy were consistent with "brown tumor." Neurologic symptoms were markedly improved with high-dose corticosteroids and a debulking procedure. This entity is important to recognize because prompt treatment of the hyperparathyroidism or decompression of the tumor mass by surgical means or corticosteroid administration can provide marked improvement in symptoms.

Multivariate analysis of risk factors in cadaver donor kidney transplantation.

Data collected prospectively on 3811 kidney transplants performed between June 1977 and July 1982 with follow-up to July 1984 by the 42 member institutions of the South-Eastern Organ Procurement foundation were analyzed to identify factors associated with graft and patient outcome in patients not receiving cyclosporine. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to examine the association and relative risk of 24 variables with three actuarial outcomes: overall graft failure, irreversible rejection, and patient death. Factors having no suggested association with any outcome included: recipient sex, history of pregnancy, blood group, and time on dialysis; organ preservation method, time and source; donor race; crossmatch test sensitivity; and annual center transplant rate. In decreasing order of relative risk, the factors most significantly associated with irreversible rejection were: loss of two or more prior grafts, low HLA-A,B match, lack of pretransplant blood transfusion, high (greater than 60%) pretransplant sensitization to leukocyte (HLA) antigens, and delayed graft function. Splenectomy, insulin-dependent diabetes, and antilymphocyte serum therapy provided the greatest risk of patient death. Factors such as recipient age, race, and native nephrectomy had suggested associations with outcome. By adding each center as a separate covariate in the analysis, other center-dependent factors were quantitated and found in some cases to have a highly significant association with graft and patient outcome. These results provide a basis for evaluating the potential risk of graft loss or patient death for those prospective cadaver kidney transplant recipients not being considered for cyclosporine therapy.