Radionuclides in the postoperative management of orthotopic human organ transplantation.

FOR SEVERAL years an active program in human organ transplantation has been conducted at our institution (1-3), and since March 1962, 214 patients have received renal transplants. Two thirds of these transplanted kidneys are still functioning and most of these patients are living nearly normal lives. In addition, limited success has been achieved in liver transplantation (4-6). Of 14 recipients of orthotopic cadaveric human liver transplants, 5 are living. Several spleen transplants have also been performed (7-9); although these patients survived, the procedures were not beneficial. The transplantation team has found the 131I-Hippuran renogram and 197Hg-chlormerodrin renal scan helpful in many cases of renal transplantation. The 99mTc-sulfide liver scan has proved valuable in the postoperative management of patients subjected to liver transplantation, and in two of the spleen transplant cases the radioisotope scan offered a means of visualizing the transplanted organ.