As we all know, kidney problems are increasing among high blood pressure & diabetes patients. There are millions of people facing this problem globally. These problems are a kidney tumor and cancer, but these problems can be solved through kidney dialysis and kidney transplant treatment. The renal replacement process is a life-saving process, but it also comes with some risks and complications that can affect patients’ health in the long run. In this article, we are going to learn about kidney transplant risks, complications & recovery guide.
Kidney replacement is a complex process in which surgeons replace a diseased kidney with a healthy one. This process requires a skilled professional who has years of experience in the field of organ transplant treatment. India has some of the best kidney transplant hospitals and kidney transplant surgeons who have experience in the urology and nephrology fields.
Risk and Complications of Kidney Transplant
Renal replacement process comes with some risks and complications. These complications can be feel by the patients after a long time of kidney replacement. So it is very important for patients to know the risks and complications of renal replacement process. Below are some of the risks and complications of a kidney transplant mentioned:
Complications & Risks of Organ Rejection After Kidney Transplant
Different types of organ rejections are mentioned below:
- Acute Rejection: This is a major cause of graft failure because, in this case recipient’s immune system attacks the donor’s organ in few days after organ replacement. The result of this problem is inflammation and body pain. This problem is curable through immunosuppressive therapies.
- Hyperacute Rejection: This is the fastest rejection process in all rejection types. The antibodies that are already present in the recipient’s body immediately attack the donated organ within minutes or hours after replacement. This action from the body required immediate removal of donated organ.
- Rejection due to Antibodies: Every time, antibodies are responsible for organ rejection because they are produced by the body to attack the unknown body cells present in the body.
- Chronic Rejection: This is a slow process where recipient’s immune system start damaging the donated organ. It is an irreversible process in which organ does not recover and need another replacement.
Risks and Complications due to Immunosuppression
Below are some of the points mentioned for this query:
- Patients who are taking immunosuppression drugs easily gets infected by virus and bacteria. This happens because these drugs make the body weak over the continuous consumption. Urinary tract infection is a common problem in this case.
- These immunosuppressive drugs can cause problem of high blood sugar. Corticosteroids are one of many that cause this type of problem in the body.
- Patients who are taking these drugs for long time have the chances of kidney tumor, lung cancer, and liver cancer.
- Every drug is very dangerous in itself that directly affects the kidney functioning. Taking these drugs requires less doses and proper monitoring from expert doctors.
- The continuous use of immunosuppression drugs can weaken the bones that results in fractures and pain in joints.
- These drugs most of the time increase the blood pressure that result in heart attacks and heart failure.
Surgical Complications in Kidney Transplant
Below are some points mentioned for surgical complications in kidney transplantation:
- Complications due to Anesthesia: In most of the cases anesthesia causes problems during surgical process. These problems can be related to breathing and allergies.
- Infection in the Surgical Area: Even after cleansing every part of the surgical area, there is a high chance of infection. This problem requires antibiotic medication.
- Loss of Blood during or after Surgery: The blood loss during surgery is a major concern because it may result in organ damage & even death. This problem is managed by stitches or using pressure.
- Blood Clot Formation: This is a serious problem during surgery when blood clots in a blood vessel and blood supply stops in the donated organ. This can be result in organ damage or graft failure.
- Damage to Surrounding Structures: This is a rare case, but can be happened during surgery. In this case, sometimes the closest part of the surgical area gets damaged, which results in further surgery to solve that problem.
Risk of Graft Failure After Kidney Transplant
Points mentioned for risk of graft failure:
- Life of a Kidney: A renal replacement patient can not live longer from a donated kidney because these kidneys can function properly for a limited time. A living donor kidney can last 15 to 20 years, whereas a diseased donor kidney lasts only for 10 to 15 years. For living a longer life, patients need multiple kidney transplant surgeries.
- Early Graft Failure: Some patients phases early kidney failure problems because of less supply of blood to the new kidney. The graft failed within a few months after surgery.
- Late Graft Failure: This problem can be faced by the patient after a long period of kidney transplantation. These problems may cause due to infection and chronic diseases. For treating these problems further, kidney dialysis is required.
Side Effects and Risks of Medications in Kidney Transplant
Below are some points for the risks of medications:
- Effects on the Brain: There are some drugs that negatively affect our brain cells, which result in headaches, seizures, and sometimes problems during sleep.
- Affects Bones: Many drugs reduce the life of bones, which finally results in bone fractures and pain in the joints.
- Gastrointestinal Problems: Some drugs that are helping you with kidney problems can cause damage to your stomach. This problem can reduce the proper functioning of the stomach.
- Affects Liver: There are some medicines that can increase the enzyme levels in the liver, which is not good. Patients need to reduce their medication dose to some extent.
Urological Complications in the Kidney
Below are some of the Urological complications mentioned:
- Urinary Tract Infections: A renal replacement can cause UTI problems after continuous consumption of immunosuppressive medicines.
- Obstruction in the Ureter: Medication consumption causes blockage in the ureter. This can cause renal damage and pain during urination.
Psychological and Quality of Life Issues
Points given below for the upper quarry:
- Depression and Anxiety: Most of the patients feel psychological stress after replacement process. They have an unknown fear of graft failure, infection, and side effects of drugs.
- Financial Strain: This negatively affects the mentality of a patient because of the burden of immunosuppressive medication costs. These drugs are compulsory to take and need a huge money to buy them.
- Lifestyle Changes: Patients with a donated kidney have to face many problems related to lifestyle. Change in diet to restrictions for most of the activities feels like a heel. The consultation with the doctor at regular intervals also creates a problem for the patients.
- Risk due to Missed Medication: It is very important for patients to take medications on a daily basis, but due to life pressure and stress, most of the patients skip their medicines. This can cause kidney failure in a short run.
Long-Term Health Risks After Kidney Transplant Surgery
Below are some points mentioned for long-term health risks:
- Chronic Kidney Disease Progression: In the long run, the donated kidney starts losing its functioning due to chronic rejection, which further requires dialysis or kidney replacement.
- Increased Mortality Risk: Due to infection and cardio-related problems after a kidney transplant, the risk of mortality increases.
- Development of Metabolic Syndrome: Due to kidney replacement surgery and continuous consumption of immunosuppressive medications, patients face a cluster of abnormalities.
Best Recovery Guide after Kidney Transplant Treatment
Below are some of the points mentioned for recovery guide:
Never Skip Appointments
Patients always stay in touch with their surgeons and never skin appointments. Taking appointments is very important so that surgeons can monitor you perfectly. On appointment day, surgeons check the kidney functioning and the medication levels in the body. They also check for the early signs of organ rejection or any problem with the donated kidney.
Quit Bad Habits
It is very important for patients to remove all bad habits from their lives, which can affect their kidneys negatively. Avoid smoking and drinking because it can affect your kidneys and overall body health.
Regular Exercise
Doing regular moderate workouts is beneficial for your kidney and heart health. Exercises reduce so many problems in your body. This improves sleep and boosts the energy levels in the body, which makes you more attentive during the recovery phase.
Take Medication
Follow your medication properly without skipping. This will help you recover faster from your problems. Always take medicines after consulting with the doctors and never change the dose on your own. Immunosuppressive medications are taken by the patient for the lifetime.
Maintain Hygiene
It is very important to maintain proper hygiene near you to avoid bacterial infection. These infections can cause cancerous problems in the near future. Always wash your hands before eating, stay away from sick people, and maintain cleanliness near you.
Check Glucose Levels
It is important to monitor your glucose levels at regular intervals. This is important because the continuous consumption of anti-rejection medicines can increase the sugar levels in the body. Taking oral medicines and insulin is necessary for maintaining a proper sugar level in the body.
Tests for Cancer
It is very important for patients to go through a cancer screening test. This test is important for renal replacement patients because the immunosuppressive drugs can cause cancerous disease in the long run. This test helps in detecting any cancerous problem going on or not.
Diet and Hydration
It is very important for patients to take a nutritious diet and stay hydrated for better kidney functioning. Healthy food helps patients in recovering fast from the replacement process. It is best to eat fruits and vegetables and avoid taking high-fat and sodium diet.
Conclusion
The kidney replacement is a life-saving process for many of the kidney-diseased patients. But it comes with some of the risks and complications. It is very important for patients to know about these risks and complications in advance so that they can take preventive measures on time. I hope from this article you get an idea about kidney transplant risks, complications & recovery process. So this is all about it, and we will meet you in our next informative article.