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Kidney transplant frees you from a strict regimen of dialysis and improves your quality of life
A kidney transplant surgery at Gleneagles Hospital Singapore.
Early signs of chronic kidney disease may be subtle. It can take many years before it deteriorates to kidney failure. Some people with chronic kidney disease may not reach the stage of kidney failure. Others end up with kidney failure and they need to be on dialysis or undergo kidney transplant to keep them alive. Being on dialysis requires the patient to follow a strict treatment schedule, take medications regularly with drastic adjustments in diet. Complications from dialysis include high or low blood pressure, anaemia, fluid overload, heart disease, infection and depression. While dialysis prolongs the life of the patient, his life expectancy is much less than that for the general population. Dr Roger Tan from Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore opines: "With all the advantages, transplant is the best treatment option for people suffering from end-stage kidney failure. In fact, we recommend pre-emptive transplant — even before the kidneys fail totally and before commencement of dialysis. This is because pre-emptive transplants have a higher chance of success." Kidney transplant is a surgical procedure to transplant a healthy kidney to a person whose kidneys are no longer functioning properly. Advantages of a transplant include freedom from dialysis, no fluid restriction, normal, healthy diet, gainful employment, better health, restores fertility and so on. Now the transplant is performed as a minimally invasive procedure — keyhole surgery in Singapore. The transplant surgeon removes the donor's kidney via keyhole surgery. This minimally invasive surgery reduced risk and shortens the recovery time. The scar from the surgery is about 10 cm (4 inches) long. This kidney is then transplanted into the recipient's lower abdomen. Placing the kidney in this location allows it to be easily connected to the bladder and nearby blood vessels. The donor is usually discharged after 3 to 5 days. The recipient needs to stay in hospital for about 10 days. With the advances in medications and quality care, the transplant team in Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore is able to handle complicated transplant cases where the blood group of the recipient and donor are not compatible. Or, in cases where the recipients have had previous transplants or multiple blood transfusions, making it difficult for them to receive a transplant as their bodies are likely to reject the transplanted kidney.
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