Pancreas transplant - series: Aftercare
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Attempts have been made to isolate only the insulin producing islets from the donor pancreas and infuse these iselts directly into the bloodstream of diabetic patients, where they would lodge in the tissues and produce insulin. While still an experimental procedure, "islet transplantation" may someday offer a treatment for diabetes that, unlike pancreas transplant, does not require a major surgery.
Update Date: 7/25/2007 Updated by: Robert A. Cowles, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.