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It is necessary to perform a biopsy on pancreatic tissue from a transplanted pancreas when the transplant does not function properly. These biopsies are needed to find the cause of the disfunction so that it can be treated. Present procedure for removing pancreatic tissue requires the use of a general anesthetic and a large-bore needle. This procedure is also only able to obtain tissue samples from the head but not the tail of the pancreas. This is a problem since the findings from the samples taken must be assumed representative of the pancreas as a whole. This study examined the use of computed tomographic (CT) guidance to enable samples to be taken from both the head and the tail of pancreatic transplants. Ten biopsies were obtained from pancreatic transplants using CT guidance. Four of these involved taking samples from both the head and the tail of the transplanted pancreas. Results of the 10 biopsies showed three to be normal, three showed signs of immunological rejection, and three showed problems in blood supply that were damaging surrounding tissue. Two of the four biopsies involving both sections of the pancreas showed different results between samples taken from the head and those taken from the tail. In one of these, the biopsy from the head was normal, but the biopsy from the tail showed damaged tissue from a diminished blood supply. This tissue was removed, and the patient is doing well with the remainder of the pancreatic transplant. These results indicate that CT-guided biopsy of pancreatic transplant tissue can be done easily and accurately and can result in important information for the early detection of problems with transplants. Early detection is important in order to treat and prevent transplant rejections. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Liver transplant recipients may experience problems, such as organ rejection, infection, blood clots in the blood vessels supplying the organ, and numerous others. Diagnosis of the underlying cause is essential for treatment and saving the transplanted organ. Noninvasive imaging techniques are useful, but often cannot diagnose the problem. Biopsies of tissue from the transplant are usually required, which can often cause severe side effects in the patient. A biopsy gun has been developed for obtaining biopsies with fewer adverse side effects. This devise has been successfully used to biopsy other organs. Biopsies using this technique were performed a total of 252 times on 58 liver transplant patients. Sufficient samples were obtained in 248 of the attempts (98.4 percent). Major complications occurred during two (0.8 percent) of the biopsies; both occurred in the same patient. Neither episode required surgery. Minor complications occurred with 16 (6.3 percent) of the biopsies. These results indicate that this technique is both safe and effective for obtaining liver biopsies from transplant patients. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)