Quality of Life After Kidney Transplantation: A Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of renal transplantation is to achieve a maximal improvement in quality of life (QoL) and life expectancy in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) while minimizing the potential side effects of this procedure. It is important to achieve an optimal balance between graft function and the patient's QoL. This study was designed to assess the changes in the QoL after kidney transplantation (KTx) in patients with ESRD previously treated with hemodialysis (HD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD). METHODS: QoL was prospectively analyzed in 69 patients after kidney transplantation in a single-center study. Patients with ESRD were divided into 2 groups: those previously treated with HD (n = 44 patients; group 1) or PD (n = 25 patients; group 2). Both groups were asked to complete the KDQOL-SFtm questionnaire before and 12 months after kidney transplantation. RESULTS: We observed significant differences in many parameters of QoL in both groups after KTx but more positive changes of most parameters in question exhibited by patients previously treated by means of HD than PD. Patients treated with HD and PD demonstrated improvement after KTx in 74% of dimensions. There were no statistical differences in the QoL between group 1 and group 2 before or after KTx. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrated post- to pre-transplant improvements of QoL independently of previous treatment.

The use of Tenckhoff catheters for draining of symptomatic lymphoceles: a review of literature and our experience.

BACKGROUND: Lymphoceles are one of the common complications of kidney transplantations. While small, asymptomatic lypmhoceles do not require intervention, however, larger, high-pressure cases can lead to graft dysfunction and are thus an indication for decompression. The aim of this study is to present the drainage using a Tenckhoff catheter as effective treatment for recurrence of symptomatic lymphoceles based on both a single center's experience as well as existing literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In our database, two patients were operated with a Tenckhoff catheter for the recurrence of symptomatic lymphocele. A review of MEDLINE in search of cases with lymphoceles treated with Tenckhoff catheterization yielded only five articles published between 1990 and 2014. The reports covered 15 cases in which 11 patients were treated for a primary lymphocele whereas 4 were treated for a recurring lymphocele. RESULTS: There was no evidence of lymphocele recurrence or infections after Tenckhoff catheterization in either the material review or our database. CONCLUSIONS: Intraperitoneal drainage with a Tenckhoff catheter seems to be an effective and safe method for treating recurrent, symptomatic lymphoceles after renal transplantation.