Kidney Transplant: What You Need to Know Before Surgery

Getting a kidney transplant can be a life-changing experience, and it’s important that you know what to expect. Kidney transplants are one of the most common organ transplants, accounting for more than 70% of all organ transplants.

A kidney transplant will help you live an active and healthy lifestyle, but it’s not without its risks. The success rate for kidney transplants is about 95%, meaning that fewer than 5% of people who get a kidney transplant will have complications. When you’re preparing for your surgery, make sure that you ask your doctor about all the possible side effects and complications so you can be as prepared as possible. Life after a kidney transplant is usually much better than before surgery, but there are still some things that you need to be aware of.

For example, many people experience weight gain after their surgery because they’re no longer on dialysis or other treatments that were keeping them from gaining weight. This can lead to problems like high blood pressure and diabetes if not managed properly with diet and exercise. You’ll also want to make sure that you keep up with your follow-up appointments so your doctor can monitor how well your body is accepting the new organ. 

You’ll first meet with members of your transplant team to talk through what to expect during and after your surgery. You’ll also have plenty of time to ask questions. When it comes time for your surgery, here are some things that are likely to happen:

An intravenous (IV) line will be placed in your arm or hand. An IV helps keep fluids flowing through your body during surgery.

You’ll be given general anesthesia so that you can rest and not feel anything during the procedure. It will be administered through an IV line or gas mask and put into effect shortly after arriving at the operating room. You’ll wake up in a recovery room once the procedure is done.

How long will I be in the hospital after my surgery?

In most cases, patients are able to go home after spending five days in the hospital following their surgery. There will be several follow-up appointments within the first few months after the procedure. After that point, annual checkups should suffice for monitoring purposes.

The donated kidney is placed in your lower abdomen and connected to the blood vessels in your pelvis and the ureter (tube) leading to your bladder, so urine can drain into your bladder. Your own kidneys usually are not removed unless they are causing severe problems such as uncontrollable high blood pressure, recurrent kidney infection, or kidney stones.

The donated kidney starts working right away or within a few days. You’ll need to take medicines that suppress your immune system (immunosuppressants) to help prevent your body from rejecting the new kidney. This puts you at risk of infection and cancer, especially lymphoma, which is why you will be monitored closely in the months after transplantation. There might recurrence of previous diseases that leads to native kidney failure, which will be discussed with you by your treating doctor in detail.

You should be able to resume most normal activities within about six weeks of surgery.

You will need to attend regular follow-up appointments so your health care provider can check how well your new kidney is working and how well it is tolerated by your body. You may need several blood tests each month at first; however, this number may decrease as time goes on. Regency Health in Kanpur will provide you with the right precautions, the best care, and aftercare for your kidney transplant. To know more about Regency Health.