When you have a kidney transplant, a healthy kidney is placed inside your body to do the work that your own kidneys can no longer do. Kidney transplantation implies a high degree of responsibility for you as you must take extra care, stay as healthy as possible, and take all your medications every day prescribed by a kidney transplant surgeon in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad.
Who can have a kidney transplant?
Patients with kidney problems of all ages, from children to the elderly, can have a transplant. To perform the operation, you must be healthy enough. In addition, you should not have cancer or infections. Some patients have other medical conditions that imply that they should not take the necessary medications after a transplant. However, for many patients with kidney problems, having a transplant can be a good treatment option, says kidney transplant surgeon in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad.
What is the first step in performing a transplant?
The first step to having a transplant is to ask your kidney transplant surgeon in Noida, Delhi, Ghaziabad, or any member of your health care team for an evaluation. Any patient with kidney problems can request an evaluation.
How does the process of evaluating transplants work?
The evaluation process for a transplant is very thorough. Your kidney transplant surgeon in Ghaziabad, Noida, Delhi will need to know a lot about you to help them and you decide if a transplant is right for you. The medical professionals will perform a series of tests and x-rays to know your general health. Everything that may affect how well you can handle the treatment will be analyzed. If someone you know would like to donate a kidney, that person will also need to have an evaluation to find out if it is compatible.
If you are informed that you are not the right person to have a transplant, do not be afraid to ask why, or if you may be eligible at some time in the future. Remember that having an active role in your own care is one of the best ways to have better health. If the person with kidney disease is your child, it is recommended that you seriously consider having an evaluation of a transplant. Because the transplant allows children and young adults to develop as normally as possible in their formative years, it may be the preferred treatment for them. If the evaluation process shows that a transplant is convenient for you or your child, the next step is to get a compatible kidney.
How is a kidney transplant performed?
You may be surprised to learn that, in general, the kidneys themselves are not removed when a transplant is performed. The kidney transplant surgeon in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad leaves them where they are unless there is a medical reason to remove them.
The donated kidney is placed in the lower abdomen, where it is easier to connect it to the important blood vessels and the bladder. Placing the new kidney in the abdomen also makes it easier to solve any problems that may develop. The operation takes two to four hours. At first, you will be sore, but you should be able to leave the bed in about a day and, in your home, within a week. The new kidney should start working very quickly. The kidney of a deceased donor may take longer to work, up to a few weeks in some cases. If that happens, you may need to continue (or continue) having dialysis until the kidney begins to function on its own.
After surgery, they will teach you about the medications you should take and about their side effects if any. They will also teach you about diet. If dialysis has been performed, you will find that there are fewer restrictions on what you can eat and drink, which is one of the benefits of a transplant.
Who are on my health care team?
Your healthcare team does your job best when you work with them as part of the team. You can do that by telling them what your concerns are, the questions you have, and learning as much as you can about kidney failure and its treatments. If you choose a transplant as your treatment, a team of transplant specialists from a transplant center will work with you. Nephrologist in Delhi, transplant doctor and kidney transplant surgeon in Ghaziabad, Noida is part of the transplant team. These doctors will work with you to help you decide if a kidney transplant is a good treatment option for you. They are responsible for all medical care related to your transplant and for performing the transplant operation. Advanced clinical practice professionals are also a part of their team. They work with their nephrologists, transplant doctors, and kidney transplant surgeon in Noida to provide your medical care.
Transplant coordinators are registered nurses with a transplant specialization. They work with all members of the health care team to see if the transplant is right for you and if so, they will help you prepare for the surgery and then check that everything goes well. There may also be dietitians as part of the staff. They will teach you to eat and drink the right things in the right amounts. Social workers help you and your family cope with kidney disease. They offer advice, identify sources of emotional support and help you access services provided by federal, state, and community agencies.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a transplant?
On the positive side, there are few restrictions on what you can eat and drink. There is likely to be an improvement in your health and how you feel. In fact, a successful transplant can allow you to live almost as you lived before having a kidney disease. On the negative side, surgery has risks, and the anti-rejection medications that you will have to take for as long as your new kidney works have side effects. Finally, it is also important that you understand that most transplants do work and last for many years. How long they can vary from one person to another. Many people will need more than one kidney transplant during their life.
Where do the transplanted kidneys come from?
Donated kidneys can come from a living donor. This person can be a blood relative (such as a brother or sister) or a non-blood relative (such as a husband or
wife). They can also come from a friend or even from an unknown person. A donated kidney can also come from a person who died and donated a healthy kidney. A person who died and donated a kidney is called a deceased donor.
For the body to accept the new kidney, it must be compatible with its type of blood and tissue. When a kidney is donated by a living person, operations are performed on the same day and can usually be scheduled at a convenient time for both the patient and the donor. A healthy person who donates a kidney can live a normal life with the kidney he has left. However, keep in mind that the operation is major surgery for both the donor and the recipient. As with any operation, there are some risks that you should consider.
Is it better to receive a kidney from a living donor?
Both the kidneys of living and deceased donors work well in a transplant, but receiving a kidney from a living donor may be better. First, you should not enter a waiting list for a kidney. In addition, a kidney from a living donor may last longer than one from a deceased donor.
The waiting list for a kidney from a deceased donor is linked to a computer that compares their blood and tissue type with that of the available kidneys and keeps track of the time they have been on the list. Since a kidney that is compatible with its own type of blood and tissue should be sought, the waiting time for a new kidney can take several years. From the moment you enter the list until a kidney is found, you may need to have some type of dialysis.
While you are waiting, you will have regular blood tests to make sure you are ready when a kidney is found. If you are having dialysis, your center will coordinate the performance of these tests. They will need to be able to communicate with you when a kidney is found because the surgery must be performed as quickly as possible.
Why do I need anti-rejection medications?
Normally, your body fights everything that is not part of itself, such as germs and viruses. That protection system is called the immune system. To prevent your body from attacking or rejecting the donated kidney, you should take medications to keep your immune system less active. These are called immunosuppressive medications or anti-rejection medications. Without these medications, your immune system would consider the donated kidney as “strange”, and attack and destroy it. Keeping your immune system less active is safe for most people.
What happens if you need it to work at full capacity due to other medical problems? If that is the case, it is not safe to have a transplant until those other problems have been resolved. Apart from immunosuppressive medications, You may also need to take other medications. Most people believe that taking medication is a small price to pay for the freedom and quality of life that a successful transplant can provide.
After your transplant, it is likely that the only and most important thing you can do is take all your medications on schedule, every day without exception. You should take these medications for as long as your kidney works. You should understand that no matter how well you feel after your transplant, taking your medications on schedule is a necessary part of your treatment. That is why you will have regular medical check-ups during the first three months after your transplant. Subsequently, you will need fewer medical checkups, but enough to make sure that your kidney is working well and that you are still taking all your medications on schedule.
What happens if my body tries to reject the new kidney?
One thing that you and your health care team should be aware of is something called an acute rejection episode, which means that your body is trying to reject the transplanted kidney. It is possible that an episode of rejection has no clear sign or symptom. That’s why it is so important to have regular blood tests to check how well your kidney is working.
The chances of having a rejection episode are higher immediately after surgery. The longer the kidney has, the lower the chance of this happening. Unfortunately, sometimes, an episode of rejection happens even if you do everything you are supposed to do. Sometimes, the body simply does not accept the transplanted kidney. But, even if an episode of rejection occurs, it does not necessarily mean that you will lose the transplant.
How often do rejection episodes happen?
Today, rejections occur much less frequently. That happens because there have been many advances in immunosuppressive medications. In the past, most patients had at least one episode of rejection. Fortunately, that is no longer the case, but there may still be rejections. In most people, rejection can be stopped with special anti-rejection medications. That is why it is so important that you have regular checkups with the urologist in Noida at the beginning.
However, you will always need to have regular medical check-ups to see how well your kidney is working and if you are experiencing any side effects of the medications. If you lose the transplanted kidney, you may still be eligible to receive another, if that is what you want. You may need to have dialysis while waiting for another kidney.
What is the best treatment option?
Learning about your treatment options will help you decide which one is best for you. Your decision should be based on more than your medical history and the opinion of your kidney transplant surgeon in Delhi. It should also be based on what you and your family want as your first initial treatment, or later. Your life and your health may change over time, and also your treatment. You should consider many things when choosing a treatment, such as your lifestyle, your age, and any other significant health problems you may have. These are just some of the things you should keep in mind.
Remember that you have an important role in choosing a treatment plan that is right for you and that your treatment may change over time to adapt to changes in your lifestyle and health.