Clinical Expertise

In patients with end-stage renal disease, faculty members of the UCI School of Medicine Division of Transplantation Surgery provide kidney transplantation, typically from deceased donors but also from living donors. If from the latter, we offer laparoscopic or robotic living donor nephrectomy as a minimally invasive procedure, allowing the donor to recover in a shorter period with minimal pain.

Our surgeons are responsible for laparoscopic peritoneal dialysis catheter placement in patients with renal insufficiency to maintain residual kidney function. We also establish hemodialysis access for those who are not suitable for peritoneal dialysis. Creating arteriovenous fistulas is the best long-term option for ongoing hemodialysis or as a bridge to kidney transplantation.

The UCI Division of Transplantation Surgery manages other renal conditions, including polycystic kidney disease, renal tumors and injuries to the kidneys. For these conditions, we perform laparoscopic native nephrectomy as required. For conditions such as arterial aneurysms, ureteral pathology and pain associated with loin pain hematuria syndrome and nutcracker syndrome, we also undertake renal autotransplantation, in which the kidney is removed, the pathology is corrected and the kidney is then transplanted back into the patient.

Diabetic patients in our care benefit from our team’s expertise in pancreas transplantation, particularly as beta-cell replacement therapy for the treatment of diabetes. We perform both isolated pancreas transplants as well as simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplants in diabetic patients. 

Our faculty members in the UCI School of Medicine Division of Transplantation Surgery carry out pancreatectomies followed by auto islet cell transplants in those with uncontrollable pain due to chronic pancreatitis.