Important Factors To Know About Kidney Transplantation Surgery

Kidney Transplant

The kidneys are a pair of organs located on either side of the body which help in eliminating wastes and excess fluids from the body in the form of urine and balancing the amount of acids, salts, and potassium in the body. They form a vital component of the body's urinary and endocrine systems and their proper functioning is essential in helping a person lead a good quality of life. Therefore, when, due to various factors, the kidney is damaged beyond repair, a kidney transplant becomes imminent.

Kidney Transplant Surgery is a treatment of the final resort, a medical procedure in which the defective kidney is replaced by a healthy kidney taken from either a living or deceased donor. It is performed in case of ailments like chronic kidney failure and is also preferred by the people as opposed to spending the remainder of a person's life being repeatedly hooked to a dialysis machine. In a kidney transplant surgery, the healthy kidney is transplanted or inserted into the recipient's body by connecting the artery and the vein of the donor's kidney to those of the recipient and connecting the recipient's bladder to the ureter of the donor kidney.

1. What are the criteria for kidney transplant eligibility?

This procedure is resorted to if the patient is suffering from chronic kidney failure wherein the person's kidney is irreversibly damaged. This can happen due to many reasons such as advanced stages of type 2 diabetes, uncontrolled hypertension, debilitating effects of some over-the-counter medications, inherited diseases like polycystic kidney disease, amongst others. So far as the donor is concerned, he/she should be healthy enough with no major health issues like diabetes. Apart from these, there should obviously be a match between the donor and the recipient.

2. How a kidney transplant surgery performed and what are the steps involved in it?

At the outset, certain tests are performed with respect to the blood, heart, breathing and even urine in order to assess the compatibility of blood and tissue. This is also done to check for the presence of harmful viruses like the HIV.

Next, the transplant team briefs the patient and his/her family with regard to the procedure and the precautions to be taken. The feasibility, advantages, possible complications and potential risks of the surgery are also laid out in front of the patient and his/her family. After the surgery, a qualified nephrologist physically examines the patient. Sometimes, the transplant team might also include a dietitian who advises the patient regarding the nutritional care both before and after the transplant.

After the operation, the patient is required to stay in the hospital for some days to recover. During this time, he/she might be given immunosuppressants to blunt the effect of the body's immune system which might sometimes attack the donor kidney deeming it to be a foreign body. The patient is advised about the quantity of intake and duration of the medication. There might be certain side-effects including weight gain, compromised immune system and many more.

3. What is the success rate of kidney transplantation?

Whether or not a kidney transplant surgery was successful depends not just on a successful surgery; the reaction and acceptance of the recipient's body with regard to the new organ and its functioning is just as important. Having said that, it must be noted that in dire circumstances where the kidneys are severely damaged beyond repair, a transplant is the only long-term viable option left.

A transplanted kidney has a success rate of about 96% in case of deceased owner transplants within a year of the surgery and about 79% at five years after the transplant. In case of living donor transplant, the success rate is about 97% at one year and 86% at five years after the transplantation.

4. How is the quality of life after a kidney transplant?

Notwithstanding the above statistics, a kidney transplantation is undoubtedly a better option than dialysis. It offers a chance at leading a better quality of life, provided of course, that the recipient follows certain precautions recommended by the doctor for the rest of his/her life.

5. Can people consume alcohol after kidney transplant?

It is recommended to totally avoid drinking alcohol after such a major operation, as it increases the blood pressure and results in weight gain, both of which further stresses the kidneys and the body.

6. Is smoking weed dangerous or better for kidney transplant patients?

There hasn't been any conclusive evidence to show that weed is beneficial or harmful for transplant patients. But, since the body's immune system is particularly weakened after a transplant thanks to all the immunosuppressants, it is advised to desist from any kind of smoking.

If you have any queries or need any help, please contact us for Kidney Transplantation Surgery and Organ Donation.

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Open Heart & Bypass Surgery Treatment in Whitefield

Cardiovascular diseases, the class of diseases which affect the heart and its vessels, are one of the leading causes of death in India and the world. Many studies have also shown that Indians are generally more susceptible to heart ailments compared to the people in other parts of the world. Therefore, it is only prudent that we know about the different treatments available for various heart diseases and other conditions. Manipal Hospitals is an acknowledged leader in providing high-quality health care services and is, in fact, one of the best cardiology hospitals in Whitefield. Its emphasis on a patient-centric approach and clinical excellence, Manipal Hospitals Whitefield aims to make health care services affordable to the masses without compromising on the quality.

An open heart surgery is a traditional type of surgery where the chest is cut open in order to perform a surgery on the valves, muscles and the arteries. In this operation, the person is connected to a heart-lung bypass machine to ensure the blood flow remains normal while the surgery is taking place.

An open heart surgery may be needed for the following reasons:

• Repair or replace the heart valves which facilitate proper blood flow through the heart
• To repair the damaged and defective regions of the heart
• To insert devices like a pacemaker which enable a proper heartbeat
• Replace the damaged heart from a healthy donor

Steps involved in a heart surgery:

• General anesthesia is administered to the patient before the start of the operation
• An incision 8 to 10 inches wide is made in the chest and the breastbone is cut in order to expose the heart.
• The patient is then connected to a heart-lung bypass machine which diverts the blood away from the heart during the surgery.
• The blocked artery is bypassed with a healthy vein or artery.
• The breastbone is closed with a wire and the original cut in the chest is stitched up.

The experienced and qualified cardiologists at Manipal Hospitals Whitefield are skilled in performing such complicated procedures and adhere to internationally-accepted standards by following all the steps with great attention to detail, making us one of the best heart hospitals in Whitefield.

Risks of Open Heart Surgery

Even though this operation is performed with the utmost care, there are several risks involved in this surgery, including:

• Heart attack
• Lung and kidneys malfunction
• Infection and pain in the chest
• Loss of memory
• Difficulty in breathing
• Blood loss

A Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery is the most common type of open-heart surgery. It is performed when one or more of the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart are partially or completely blocked.

There are two types of Coronary Bypass Surgeries:

Surgery treatment:

On-Pump Open Heart Surgery: In this, the patient is on a ventilator and under the influence of general anesthesia during the surgery. In this process, the heart is stopped with the help of a potassium solution and so the blood circulation is performed by a heart-lung machine. Grafts are used to reroute the blood around the blockage or to replace the blocked vessel. After the procedure, the heart is started again. The benefits of this process are that it is quicker since there is no heartbeat to contend with, and is suitable for unstable patients. But, it requires a longer stay in the hospital and has an increased risk of stroke.

Off-Pump Open Heart Surgery: This process resembles that of on-pump surgery, except that the blood flow is maintained by the heart even during the surgery. Instead of a heart-lung machine, surgical instruments are used to hold the area being grafted still. This process is slower since the heart is functioning during the procedure, but there is also a reduced risk of stroke, reduced hospital stay and is less expensive.

Recovery After Open Heart Surgery

After the surgery, the patient is kept in the ICU for a few days, following which he/she is made to rest in the hospital for about 6 weeks. The area where the incisions are made is regularly inspected for signs of infection. The patient is advised to get sufficient rest and sleep after the surgery. Other precautions include avoiding coffee in the evenings, taking pain medications etc. to aid proper sleep.

Though risky, the open heart surgery success rate is quite high and the mortality rate is very low, that is, only about 2-3 percent of the people who've undergone this process die as a result of the operation. The mortality rate and the risk of complications are proportional to the severity of heart disease.

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