Sentinel Skin Flaps in Pancreas Transplantation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Vascularised sentinel skin flaps to detect rejection in pancreas transplantation
IRAS ID
185583
Contact name
Peter Friend*
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 2 days
Research summary
Vascularised sentinel skin flaps to detect rejection in pancreas transplantation.
Kidney failure, eye disease, nerve damage and advanced cardiovascular disease are devastating complications for some patients with diabetes (up to 30% of patients develop impaired vision). Evidence suggests that pancreatic transplantation can be highly effective in helping these patients but the benefits require the pancreas graft to function for many years. However early transplant failure is common, largely because there is no effective way to monitor the graft for signs of rejection until the damage is irreversible. The development of accurate techniques that detect rejection before the pancreas graft sustains any injury while also recognising the absence of rejection is therefore crucial.
Vascularised skin flaps have been used in hand and face transplantation to enable remote monitoring and facilitate access for biopsies. This experience has been translated into abdominal organ transplantation by the Oxford Transplant Centre. Preliminary data has suggested that the use of transplanted skin can provide significant benefit in the early diagnosis and management of acute rejection in intestinal transplant patients.
This study aims to investigate the use of donor derived skin flaps to detect rejection in pancreas transplantation. The cellular and molecular mechanisms that are involved in pancreas and skin rejection will also be investigated.
The study is funded by the University of Oxford’s Medical Research Fund and by fellowships from the Royal College of Surgeons and NIHR. The study will take place at the Oxford Transplant Centre.
Participants will be recruited prior to transplantation and a sentinel skin flap will be transplanted onto the patient’s forearm at the same time as pancreas transplantation. The duration of the study will be 12 months and research procedures will take place at 2 weeks, 3, 6, and 12 months alongside normal clinical follow-up.REC name
South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/SW/0333
Date of REC Opinion
18 Dec 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion