Simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation: which organ should be transplanted first?

Simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation (SPKT) has been accepted as treatment for type I diabetic patients with end-stage renal disease. Its success depends largely on the surgical technique. This study sought to compare groups of SPKT with initial pancreas implantation versus initial kidney implantation. From December 2000 to September 2006, 151 SPKT were performed by a single center. In 85 cases, the pancreas was implanted first (group 1), and in 66 cases the order was inverted (group 2). Variables were implantation sequence, pancreas and kidney ischemia time, donor age, venous drainage, previous donor peritoneal dialysis, and recipient age and gender. Outcome variables included pancreas vascular thrombosis, 3-month graft survival, 3-month patient survival, pancreas rejection episodes, intra-abdominal infection, diabetes control and reoperations. We observed a 10.6% incidence of vascular thrombosis in group 1 but none in group 2 (P = .005). In groups 1 and 2, the 3-month pancreas survivals were 74.1% and 89.4% (P = .022), and the mean hospital stays were 24.3 and 15.8 days, respectively (P = .002). Our results suggested that, when 2 different teams are involved in SPKT, with >1 exposure and the need for retractor replacement, the kidney should be transplanted first, because the pancreas may be damaged during the surgical procedure.