Pancreas Retrieval and Bench Surgery
Vogel T., Friend PJ.
The quality of the retrieved organ is fundamental to the success of organ transplantation and this applies in transplantation of the pancreas as much as any other organ. The pancreas is vulnerable to disease in the donor, preretrieval injuries, retrieval damage and preservation injury. The pancreas is the organ most likely to be damaged during retrieval of all the abdominal organs, and the skill of the retrieval surgeon is therefore paramount to the success of pancreas transplantation. Much of the recent success of pancreas transplantation is due to improvements in this procedure. Early assessment of the organ is an essential part of the retrieval process, followed by partial mobilization and then in-situ cooling. In most centers the liver is retrieved first, followed by further dissection and removal of the pancreas (followed by the kidneys), although en-bloc retrieval of the liver and pancreas is advocated in some centers - this allows rapid retrieval but necessitates separation of the organs on the bench. As pancreas transplantation (of both the solid organ and islets) increases and the demand for transplantable organs expands, it is increasingly essential that all retrieval surgeons are able to retrieve the pancreas reliably and safely. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd..