Guest guest Posted November 8, 2003 Report Share Posted November 8, 2003 HI I M WORRIED ABOUT BURN-OUT AND DIABETES. DO THEY EVER DO AN ISLET TRANSPLANT WHILE THE PANCREAS IS STILL HEALTHY, OR DO THEY ONLY DO IT IF THEY REMOVE THE PANCREAS. NANCY KFALLS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 8, 2003 Report Share Posted November 8, 2003 , My doctors said that they try to evaluate and recommend the total pancreatectomy and islet cell autotransplant to patients whom they believe have NOT sustained much damage but will if intervention is not taken. That was precisely the situation I was in. I was not diabetic prior to the surgery nor was I believed to have taken much damage. But I had 15 hospitalizations for acute pancreatitis so it was simply a matter of time before my pancreas would begin to be seriously damaged. The TP/ICT is done while there is a normal amount of viable islet cells so that the patient has the best chance of avoiding brittle diabetes. For diabetics that do not suffer from pancreatitis some insitutions are doing islet cell TRANSPLANTS. The patient receives islet cells from a living or dead donor. It is believed when this approach is refined and when/if enough donors are available that many sick diabetics will be able to reduce their need for insulin, and in some cases " cure " the diabetes. One day in fact such procedures may be the cure. The thing that is kind of scary about an islet cell transplant is that you have to take immunosupressives for life to prevent rejection. Hope this helps, Bert > HI I M WORRIED ABOUT BURN-OUT AND DIABETES. DO THEY EVER DO AN ISLET > TRANSPLANT WHILE THE PANCREAS IS STILL HEALTHY, OR DO THEY ONLY DO IT > IF THEY REMOVE THE PANCREAS. NANCY KFALLS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 9, 2003 Report Share Posted November 9, 2003 You could always contact Dr Sutherland and ask him these questions . I am sure since he is an expert in the field that he could answer your questions better than any of us can. You can find his contact info on my website I hope this finds you and yours well Mark E. Armstrong NW Rep, PAI www.top5plus5.com casca@... ISLET TRANSPLANT > HI I M WORRIED ABOUT BURN-OUT AND DIABETES. DO THEY EVER DO AN ISLET > TRANSPLANT WHILE THE PANCREAS IS STILL HEALTHY, OR DO THEY ONLY DO IT > IF THEY REMOVE THE PANCREAS. NANCY KFALLS > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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