By creator to chippewa.com
By the point the brand new transplant surgical procedure date arrived, Don’s kidneys had grown to the dimensions of 9-month-old infants, mentioned Dr. Mikel Prieto, the Mayo Clinic transplant surgeon who carried out Don’s process.
“Don was a skinny man, however he had this big stomach due to his kidneys,” Prieto mentioned, noting {that a} regular kidney is just concerning the measurement of a fist. “It was nearly like he was carrying a twin being pregnant.”
To take away the super-sized kidneys, every estimated to weigh 20 to 25 kilos, the surgical workforce shrunk them inside Don’s stomach earlier than taking them out by means of a small incision.
“Doing a kidney transplant is all the time a really satisfying surgical procedure by way of the advantages the affected person has after surgical procedure, nevertheless it’s notably spectacular in sufferers which have big kidneys taken out,” Prieto mentioned. “We resolve each issues without delay, and there’s a big enchancment of their life in a single day.”
Don went into surgical procedure weighing 220 kilos and got here out at 180 kilos and telling the medical employees how mild he felt.
“I can breathe lots higher now,” Don mentioned. “Earlier than I’d be out of breath if I bent over to tie my sneakers as a result of these huge kidneys had been pushing on my diaphragm.”
Whereas dialysis can preserve individuals alive after their kidneys fail and donations from deceased donors are essential, “the most suitable choice by far is getting a kidney from a relative or pal,” Prieto mentioned, including that Mayo does 4 to 6 residing donor kidney transplants every week in Rochester.
— to chippewa.com
