Pancreatitis and Islet Cell Transplants: Ask Dr. Khan

Khalid Khan, MD is a gastroenterologist and medical director of the Islet Cell Transplant Program at the MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute. Here, he answers questions about chronic and acute pancreatitis and a cutting edge treatment called autologous islet cell transplant. Click on “show more” below to see all of the questions Dr. Khan answers. Clicking on a specific question will link you to that answer.

0:00 Meet Dr. Khan

3:30 What does the pancreas do?

4:00 What are islet cells?

4:55 What is chronic versus acute pancreatitis?

6:22 Does chronic pancreatitis lead to pancreatic cancer?

7:24 Why does chronic pancreatitis lead to pancreatic cancer?

8:40 How do you diagnose pancreatitis?

10:07 Why can diagnosing chronic pancreatitis be so tricky?

11:00 What are the tests you use to diagnose pancreatitis?

12:30 What are the symptoms of chronic pancreatitis?

13:10 What is an islet cell transplant?

14:35 How long does the islet cell transplant surgery take?

15:31 During the transplant, does harvesting more islet cells from the pancreas mean a lower chance of having diabetes afterwards?

16:25 Can I live without my pancreas?

17:35 Will I take pills after having an islet cell transplant?

18:05 Wouldn’t it be easier to transplant the entire pancreas and not just the islet cells?

18:35 Will I need insulin after an islet cell transplant?

19:30 How long is the recovery from an islet cell transplant?

20:45 Why is it important to diagnose chronic pancreatitis sooner rather than later?

21:10 How important is the laboratory to the success of an islet cell transplant?

22:20 Why come to the MGTI for an islet cell transplant?