Pancreatic grafts. Nuclear perfusion imaging to detect vascular complications and rejection crises.

Perfusion studies with 99m-Tc-DTPA were used routinely to investigate renal grafts. Efforts were made to employ this technique in monitoring the perfusion of pancreatic grafts. A total perfusion failure is as reliably detectable as in renal grafts. Smaller perfusion alterations could be demonstrated by follow up studies. It appears to be feasible to differentiate the salivary edema, well known from animal experiments, from a rejection reaction with the help of other parameters (e.g. creatinine). Further clinical studies, however, are necessary to confirm these results.