Kidney Patient Guide

Hello all!
I have a question. Has anyone had other surgeries after the kidney transplant? Did you heal fine? Did it affect the new kidney? I ask this because my doctor says that surgery can risk for infection. But we are at risk for an infection just from everyday life right? I would just love to hear the stories and weigh my options. I think that we give better and wiser information than some of the doctors . So PLEASE share your stories, it will not only help me but I am sure that someone else is wondering the same.

Thanks,
Miriam

Hello,

I did, to remove my PD tube. This was a year post transplant!

Anyway I was very pleased because I was in for two days and never saw the renal team once. The surgeon said because the transplant was OK I was not being treated as a renal patient but as a surgery patient. He did not know it but he made my day

Hi Miriam ...
I recently had a minor op for reflux without any problems ... all ops carry a risk of infection etc ... but they are the same risks whether you have a Tx or not ...
dont give yourself the extra worry ... just as long as your happy that your surgeon is fully aware of your transplant and any fears you may have and your surgeon can help allay them ... its bad enough that you may be having to face further surgery without the worry of an infection affecting your kidney ...
all the best lady :0)
and hope all goes well

All ops carry a risk however the risk is higher if you have a transplant as your immune system is compromised. This means that you are at a potentially higher risk. Whatever medical team is looking after you needs to be fully aware of your transplant so that they can best plan your after op care plan AND query any points they need to with your renal team.

Usually things are smooth but you might need/like to be made aware of things such as the fact that for some ops, antibiotics may be given as a 'cover' or that some post op drugs may cause a temporary rise in creatinine for example, or that drugs interact (important when doctors add new drugs to your regime.) These are all things to be aware of but should not worry you to the extreme..

Units all seem to have different policy's so DO keep asking questions:D



Good luck with whatever it is you are having done..

Any surgery poses a risk, even to a healthy person,something that many people don't consider these days when medical science is so advanced. The question that needs to be asked by anyone contemplating undergoing an operation, is whether the risk of having surgery is outweighed by the benefits of having the surgery, e.g relief of pain, or the risks of not having the surgery, e.g. disability, death? If that cannot be answered with a positive, then it wouldn't be wise to go ahead with the surgery. Obviously that is a decision that needs to me made in conjunction with a doctor. However, as a nurse who saw a patient return from routine orthopaedic surgery having suffered brain damage from being anaesthetised, this is the reply that I would give to anyone considering surgery.

Nonetheless, I have undergone surgery when I was taking immuno-suppression with no ill-effects. My recommendation though if you have surgery is to watch the nurses and doctors who look after you pretty carefully, and insist on them washing their hands if you know that they haven't since many hospital-borne infections are passed through hand contact. Good luck, Amanda

Hi Miriam:
Something I noticed from my Tx center was they suggested you not have any dental work (ie cleaning) for at least 4 months if not longer after TX. I believe there is a "window" of approx. 6 months after Tx surgery where you are more vulnerable to infection than you are after a year post Tx. I had two surgeries within a month of Tx that were related to not healing quickly. Since I had been a chronic steroid user (first tx) before my 2nd tx, I did not heal as quickly and the center needed two more surgeries to get rid of a seroma (water pocket) that had developed and was "pressuring" the tx. The center did not appear to be anymore concerned about infection for the two other surgeries than they were the first surgery. Though I do suspect if the 2nd and 3rd surgeries were being done somewhere else (another hospital) they may have been concerned.

Thanks you guys for the information. This will really help me to make my decision.

Miriam

Hi Miriam!
I have had a few surgeries post transplant and have done very well with them all. I had both my knees replaced with no problem, was out of the hospital in four days and completed my rehab in less time than it usually takes. I've had cataracts removed with no problems whatsoever. It is true that you are more susceptable to infection and you might be slower to heal, but if your doctors know this, they can compensate and prepare for it.
The doctor who did my knees does a lot of tx patients so he had a little advantage over some of the other ortho docs, but if you make your doctors aware that you need a little "special" treatment, I am sure that everything will go fine. A lot of times, they will give you antibiotics during and after surgery as a precaution...I don't know about other places, but where I go you automatically get a private room in the hospital if you're a tx recipient! I guess it cuts down on the chance of infection from another patient, plus it might give you more of a chance to rest- now,if only those nurses didn't come in to check you at all hours of the night!
Best Wishes,
Pam