| Theme |
Team medicine in the treatment for renal failure |
| Title |
Necessity of kidney transplant teams |
| Author |
Kazuharu Uchida |
Department of Organ Transplant Surgery, Aichi Medical University |
| Author |
Kousei Horimi |
Department of Organ Transplant Surgery, Aichi Medical University |
| Author |
Megumi Watanabe |
Kidney Center, Nursing Department, Aichi Medical University |
| [ Summary ] |
Kidney transplantation has the greatest potential of any treatment modality to restore patients to healthy, productive lives. The life expectancy of living donor transplant patients is estimated to be over 17 years. The major cause of graft loss is patient mortality, predominantly from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Promotion of graft longevity, may be achieved through intensive medical treatment of lifestyle-related disease. Transplant patients suffer from these conditions particularly those which increase the risk of CVD. Treatment of these conditions is as important as the long-term modification of immunosuppression. Patients should be encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyles. Nutritional management and regular aerobic exercise should be part of their therapeutic regimens, to achieve healthy lifestyles. Kidney transplant related medical care teams may be particularly beneficial in supporting patients' self-supervised therapy. |