sirolimus and Hernia

Incisional hernias are a frequent problem after liver transplantation. Mesh repair techniques including laparoscopic repair have been employed in order to address this problem. We have introduced intraperitoneal onlay mesh repair (IPOM) in 2008 because of advantages that had been reported in the literature. To perform a structured comparison of methods and outcomes, we compared patients who have been treated with IPOM and those who have been treated conventionally.. We included 29 consecutive patients (15 IPOM, 14 conventional hernia repair [CHR] who have been analyzed and have been examined clinically and sonographically during their follow-up.. Recurrence rate was 6% (IPOM) and 50% (CHR), complication rate was 33% (IPOM) and 21% (CHR), mean hospital stay was 7.2 (IPOM) and 9.7 (CHR) days. None of the 29 patients had an impaired wound healing or infectious complications. Of the 29 patients, 10 received sirolimus for immunosuppression, which was switched preoperatively to a calcineurin inhibitor.. IPOM results in a shorter hospital stay. The complication rate with IPOM was higher compared with CHR, recurrence rate was considerably lower. The role of perioperative sirolimus switch needs to be interpreted with caution, but should be further investigated because of potential advantages with respect to fewer wound healing complications.

Topics: Calcineurin Inhibitors; Female; Hernia; Herniorrhaphy; Humans; Immunosuppressive Agents; Laparoscopy; Length of Stay; Male; Middle Aged; Organ Transplantation; Recurrence; Sirolimus

We investigated a novel immunosuppressive protocol including thymoglobulin induction in combination with sirolimus and corticosteroids, followed by introduction of markedly reduced exposures to cyclosporine to prevent pancreas-transplant rejection.. A 7-day course of thymoglobulin (1.5 mg/kg per day) was begun on postoperative day (POD) 0, together with 15 mg of sirolimus on POD 1, and followed by 5 mg per day, targeting these doses to achieve a trough of 10 to 20 ng/mL. When the serum creatinine was below 2.5 mg/dL, cyclosporine was introduced at 50 mg twice daily with dose adjustment to maintain a trough concentration of 100 to 125 ng/mL.. The 18 patients included 14 simultaneous pancreas-kidney and 4 pancreas-after-kidney transplant recipients. Two patients were African-American, three patients had a pretransplant panel reactive antibody greater than 20%, and the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatch was 4.5+/-1 (mean+/-standard deviation). With a mean follow-up of 13.6+/-4.7 months, patient, kidney, and pancreas graft survivals are 100%, 100%, and 94%, respectively. A single pancreas graft was lost to thrombosis. There were no acute rejection episodes and no opportunistic infections. Mean hospital stay was 9+/-3 days. At 3 months posttransplantation, the mean value of serum creatinine was 1.2+/-0.3 mg/dL, fasting glucose was 88+/-15 mg/dL, and sirolimus dose at month 3 was 6.3+/-3 mg per day and at month 12 2.7+/-1 mg per day. The average total daily cyclosporine A dose at month 3 was 208+/-62 mg per day and 133+/-13 mg per day at 1 year.. This immunosuppressive regimen provided excellent prophylaxis against acute rejection with no opportunistic infections. We believe that careful monitoring of sirolimus and cyclosporine levels was critical to success of this protocol.

Topics: Adult; Antilymphocyte Serum; Cyclosporine; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Female; Graft Rejection; Graft Survival; Hernia; Humans; Immunosuppressive Agents; Kidney; Lipids; Male; Middle Aged; Pancreas; Pancreas Transplantation; Prospective Studies; Sirolimus; Surgical Wound Infection; T-Lymphocytes