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October 13, 1999

Research: Cure

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Question from Gig Harbor, Washington, USA:

What do you know about an outpatient cell transplant operation being tried recently? It was on our local news, in Seattle.

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

The actual islet transplant procedure could be performed on an outpatient basis. This is because it consists of an infusion (similar to a blood transfusion) of the islets in the portal vein, which is the main vein bringing blood to the liver. A small catheter is placed in this vein through the skin and the liver (percutaneous approach) under local anesthesia in a radiology suite.

So far, all patients undergoing islet transplantation have been admitted to the hospital for monitoring reasons, but the procedure itself could be performed as outpatient.

CR