Jump to content

Choose locationChoose Location
  • Sign in or Enroll
    • Open I want to choose my medical group or hospital
    • Clear my location
Change Location
Sutter Health
  • Video Visits
  • Find Doctors
  • Find Locations
  • Treatments & Services
  • Locations
  • Sign in or Enroll
    • Video Visits
    • Find Doctors
    • Find Locations
    • Treatments & Services
    • COVID-19 Resources
    • Pay a Bill
    • Symptom Checker
    • Get Care Today
    • Health & Wellness
    • Classes & Events
    • Research & Clinical Trials
    • For Patients
    • About Sutter Health
    • Giving
    • Volunteering
    • Careers
    • News
    • For Medical Professionals
    • Other Business Services
Close Search
  • Home
  • Services
  • Kidney Disease and Nephrology
  • SPK Transplant Restores Health
Content

Simultaneous Pancreas-Kidney Transplant Restores Health

If you're battling diabetes and kidney disease, talk to your Sutter Health network doctor to find out if you qualify for a simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplant. This technique—which places a healthy kidney and pancreas into your body at the same time—not only eliminates the need for dialysis, but also relieves diabetes sufferers’ daily burden of insulin shots and blood glucose monitoring. The new kidney filters poisons out of your body while the new pancreas makes insulin automatically, as your body needs it. 

Since 1989, specialists at California Pacific Medical Center, a Sutter Health affiliate, have performed this advanced surgery with consistently excellent outcomes. CPMC is one of the two most active simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant programs in Northern California and achieves outstanding patient and organ survival rates, according to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. 

African American surgeon in operating room

Simultaneous Pancreas-Kidney Transplant Process

After a thorough evaluation, if you’re a good candidate for simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant—for some people, now the preferred treatment for kidney failure due to diabetes—you’ll be placed on a priority waiting list. The average wait for a two-organ donation is two to three years.

To speed the process, you may choose to seek a living kidney donation transplant and then wait to receive pancreas transplant surgery at a later date, a process called Pancreas After Kidney transplant. Pancreas After Kidney transplants yield lower long-term success rates than simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplants, so discuss your options with your doctor. Today, most pancreas transplants involve a simultaneous kidney transplant, with both organs from a deceased donor; Pancreas After Kidney transplants are much less common, and pancreas transplant alone is rarer still.

During the simultaneous pancreas-kidney operation, your surgeon places the new pancreas in your lower right abdomen and your new kidney in the lower left abdomen. (Usually, the dysfunctional kidneys and pancreas are left in place.) Your new pancreas begins to produce insulin immediately and blood sugar falls to normal levels within hours.

Results

After simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant surgical recovery:

  • You’ll no longer require insulin shots.
  • You can begin eating a healthy, non-diabetic diet.
  • You won’t have to worry about skipping a meal, exercising too much or experiencing bouts of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) or hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).
  • The pancreas may help slow or prevent other diabetic complications, including neuropathy and eye disease.
  • You won’t require dialysis to filter wastes and balance electrolytes.
  • The pancreas will protect your new kidney from possible recurrent diabetes.

Compared with kidney transplant alone, simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant involves a longer hospital stay, more frequent follow-up and additional potential complications. But given its exceptional success rate, simultaneous pancreas-kidney may just be the life-giving alternative you need to return to a full, active life.

Related Content

  • Dialysis
  • Kidney Transplant
  • Diabetes Care

Doctor Profiles

The following doctors are part of the Sutter Health network. Learn about the doctors on this site.
Eric T. Miller, M.D.

Eric T. Miller, M.D.

  • Kidney Transplant

View All Related Doctors

The Sutter Health Network of Care
Expertise to fit your needs
Primary Care

Check-ups, screenings and sick visits for adults and children.

Specialty Care

Expertise and advanced technologies in all areas of medicine.

Emergency Care

For serious accidents, injuries and conditions that require immediate medical care.

Urgent Care

After-hours, weekend and holiday services.

Walk-In Care

Convenient walk-in care clinics for your non-urgent health needs.

About Sutter

  • About Our Network
  • Annual Report
  • Awards
  • Community Benefit
  • Contact Us
  • News
  • Giving
  • Find Care

  • Birth Centers
  • Care Centers
  • Emergency Rooms
  • Hospitals
  • Imaging
  • Labs
  • Surgery Centers
  • Urgent Care
  • Walk-In Care
  • View All >
  • Featured Services

  • Behavioral Health
  • Cancer Services
  • Family Medicine
  • Home Health and Hospice
  • Orthopedics
  • Pediatrics
  • Pregnancy
  • Primary Care
  • Women's Health
  • View All >
  • Patient Resources

  • Accepted Health Plans
  • Classes and Events
  • Estimate Costs
  • Health and Wellness
  • Medical Records
  • Medicare Advantage
  • My Health Online
  • Pay a Bill
  • Symptom Checker
  • Our Team

  • For Employees
  • Physician Careers
  • Recruiting Events
  • Residencies and Fellowships
  • Sutter Careers
  • Vendors
  • Volunteers
    • ADA Accessibility
    • Contact
    • Privacy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information

    • LinkedIn Opens new window
    • YouTube Opens new window
    • Facebook Opens new window
    • Twitter Opens new window
    • Glassdoor Opens new window
    • Instagram Opens new window

    Copyright © 2022 Sutter Health. All rights reserved. Sutter Health is a registered trademark of Sutter Health ®, Reg. U.S. Patent & Trademark office.

    Cookie Policy

    We use cookies to give you the best possible user experience. By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. Privacy Policy Cookie Preferences

    Privacy Policy Cookie Preferences