Telangana: Combined Pancreas, Kidney Transplant performed at government hospital

The procedure, which took 23 hours, was performed by a team led by Dr Madhusudan, HoD, surgical gastroenterology, the hospital said in a release, adding that this was a first for government hospitals in India.

"Pancreas transplantation is very much complex and serious surgery which requires multiple blood vessels anastomosis," it said.

The patient, resident of Nalgonda district of Telangana, suffered from juvenile diabetes, chronic kidney failure and bilateral retinopathy, and came from a poor family. He was on dialysis for last two years.

"Now the patient is doing very well. Blood sugars were well controlled without insulin," the release said.

Type 1 diabetes is very common in India and many of those suffering from it die by the age of 40 due to multiple organ failure because of high blood sugar. Combined pancreas and kidney transplantation is done at a very few places world-over, the release said.

Telangana Health Minister C Laxma Reddy congratulated the Osmania General Hospital on this landmark achievement.

A similar surgery would cost around Rs. 30-40 lakh in private hospital, while it was done free of cost at OGH, the release added.