Transplant Institute
The Transplant Institute, part of the Department of Surgery, offers nationally recognized patient care, research programs, and education and training opportunities.
Recovery & Life After Kidney Transplant
Helping you make progress and move forward
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What Happens After Your Kidney Transplant Surgery
After your kidney transplant surgery, you are on your way to better health and a more active lifestyle. But the overall long-term success rate for transplant surgery depends on you properly caring for yourself. This means taking your medications as directed, watching for possible complications, getting needed follow-up care, eating right and more. We’re here to help.
The Early Days of Your Recovery
After your kidney transplant surgery, our attention turns to helping you learn how to care for yourself. This begins with your move from our post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) to our dedicated inpatient transplant unit.
Once you’re up and moving, we encourage you to walk around your room and down the hall at least three times a day. Walking increases your blood circulation, helps relieve gas pain and makes it easier to maintain muscle tone. We also encourage you to continue coughing and doing deep breathing exercises to keep your lungs clear of fluid.
You might find it hard to sleep in the hospital. Many people report strange dreams that seem real or issues with their memory. These problems are temporary. If they persist or bother you, talk with your doctor.
Getting Ready to Leave the Hospital
Having a new kidney is a lifelong commitment. Taking an active role in your after-care — and developing a good daily routine while you’re in the hospital — will help you better care for yourself when you go home.
When your kidney function is stable and, you’ve learned to care for yourself, it will be time to head home. Remember, you’ve traveled a long, sometimes difficult road to reach this point. You may feel anxious, frightened or overwhelmed. It will take time for your energy level to get back to normal and to get used to the routines you need to follow to stay well.
Signs of Trouble
Recognizing possible problems with your transplant, these are dangers signs specific to a kidney transplant:
- Fever
- Decreased urine output
- Swelling in your hands or face
- Tenderness over your kidney
We’re available to help you at any time, day or night. Call 617-632-9700. The answering service will connect you to a transplant team member. Be sure you’re available to answer your phone if they must page someone to call you back. For medical emergencies, always call 911.
More About Recovery & Life After Kidney Transplant
Possible Early Kidney Transplant Complications
The most common kidney transplant complications include medication side effects, wound complications and infection. High blood pressure, renal (kidney) dysfunction, rejection and ureter complications can occur as well.
Kidney Rejection
The most common sign of rejection is a change in kidney function that we can measure with a blood test. The test measures creatinine, a waste product. You get frequent blood tests in the first three months after your transplant and regular testing after that.
If we suspect your body might be rejecting your new kidney, you may need a kidney ultrasound and a kidney biopsy. During a biopsy, we sample your kidney with a needle and examine it under a microscope.
If tests verify your body is rejecting the transplanted kidney, we increase your dose of anti-rejection medication or prescribe a different combination of anti-rejection medications. These types of rejection episodes are nearly always reversible and rarely lead to the loss of the kidney, provided you take your medication. However, if your rejection episode is severe, it may shorten the overall lifespan of your new kidney.
Infection
Your anti-rejection medications help your body accept your new kidney. Unfortunately, the medicines may also weaken your immune system. The most common infections after a kidney transplant affect your lungs, your surgical incision, and your bladder or urinary tract.
You might need to return to the hospital to get treatment with IV medications. When necessary, we consult with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) Infectious Disease team.
Renal (Kidney) Dysfunction
Sometimes, donated kidneys don’t begin working right away, as if the kidney is asleep. This condition is known as delayed graft function (DGF). DGF can last a few days, or sometimes up to several weeks. If your kidney isn’t working right away, you may need dialysis with our Kidney Care team until the organ starts to function.
Ureter Problems
It’s possible for the ureter that your surgeon connected to your bladder to leak or become blocked after surgery. We use ultrasound to detect the problem. It can be fixed with surgery. Our Urology team may be involved with your care.
Your Medications
Post-transplant medications are vital to your recovery. Your transplant team will decide what medications are right for you and explain them to you in detail.
The medicines include:
- Immunosuppressants to prevent rejection of your kidney. You take these medications for as long as you have a functioning transplant.
- Infection prevention medications that you take for a variable amount of time.
You may need to take medication to control blood pressure and prevent fluid retention, as well.
Be sure to take all your medications as instructed. Never stop a medication or change a dose without approval from your transplant team, even if you have side effects. You may need to tolerate some side effects temporarily to prevent organ rejection. Your doctor may be able to adjust your medication, if necessary.
Please call us during normal office hours if you need routine medication refills.
Daily Health Tracking at Home & Follow-up Visits
Once you return home, it’s important to continue actively participating in your care.
Before you leave the hospital, we schedule a follow-up visit for you with a transplant surgeon or physician. It’s very important that you keep this appointment and all future appointments. Follow-up care allows us to check your progress, review your medications and do certain lab tests to be sure you and your kidney are doing well.
You may need blood and urine tests between visits as well. We may order other tests, such as CT Scans or a biopsy, at certain times, too.
Your visits gradually become less often:
- Once a week for the first one to three months
- Moving to every two weeks
- Then once a month
- Eventually once every six to eight weeks
- Finally, once every three to six months
As you begin to see your transplant team less often, you have more time for yourself and your activities. That means you become even more responsible for maintaining your own health. You may see your primary care doctor or nephrologist more often than before your transplant surgery.
Always tell any healthcare provider you see that you’ve had a kidney transplant. That way, if you become ill, they can determine whether your symptoms are related to your transplant. We recommend keeping a list of your current medications, as well as any drug allergies, with you at all times.
Diet & Nutrition
There are a number of food and nutrition guidelines you should follow after an organ transplant. Make sure you:
- Avoid raw or undercooked meat, poultry, fish, sushi, raw shellfish and raw eggs in any form (including cookie dough and eggnog).
- Do not eat grapefruit — or any juices or beverages containing grapefruit — because they will interfere with your medications.
Because you feel better with your new kidney, your diet will be less restricted that it used to be. Some of your medicines may increase your appetite. To avoid gaining weight, it’s important to eat healthy food. We work with you to develop an individualized eating plan. We consider any special needs and restrictions you might have.
Finally, after a kidney transplant it’s important to drink plenty of water — at least 64 ounces each day — unless your doctor tells you otherwise. Because you might experience low (or rarely, high) phosphorus levels after your transplant, talk with your transplant coordinator or nutritionist about your phosphorus level.
Life After Kidney Transplant
There’s a lot involved in caring for yourself after an organ transplant. But you can do it — and do it well. Some people who received a kidney transplant at BIDMC have had their kidney for 30 years or more.
We’re here to guide you, to answer your questions and to offer support. We hope knowing you will never be alone in your journey will make things easier for you.
Preventing Long-Term Complications
Many kidney transplant complications occur soon after surgery, but some can develop later. For example, the medications you take increase your risk of sun-related skin cancer and a rare type of lymph node cancer. New diabetes or diabetes that’s increasingly hard to control are possible, too. Ongoing care and support from the Transplant Institute team can help you prevent and manage these complications.
Stay Smoke-Free
Hopefully, if you were a smoker, you quit smoking for good before your transplant. Avoiding tobacco is crucial to extending your life and the life of your new kidney. Make every effort not to use tobacco. We can provide guidance if you need help quitting.
Resuming Normal Activities
Your transplant team will let you know when you can drive again, travel and return to work or school. You can decide when to resume sexual activity depending on how you feel. Discomfort after surgery usually doesn’t interrupt sexual activity for more than a few weeks. Avoiding pregnancy is extremely important after organ transplantation, until such a time that it is safe and your medications have been appropriately adjusted. Please discuss any plans for pregnancy with your transplant doctor. Avoiding pregnancy is extremely important after organ transplantation, until such a time that it is safe and your medications have been appropriately adjusted. Please discuss any plans for pregnancy with your transplant doctor.
