Mr. Rudo Plangger’s Kidney Transplant Journey

Mr. Rudo Plangger, 64, lives in Germany. He had been on dialysis for a long time and had tried every other treatment option available in his country.

During his dialysis sessions, Mr. Plangger reached out to MediGence, the family was quite concerned because his health had been declining daily. He had been experiencing symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, muscle cramps, loss of appetite, swelling via feet and ankles, shortness of breath, trouble sleeping, and urinating either too much or too little. Even the local doctor in Germany had suggested that he urgently needed a kidney transplant and that he should seek care at a hospital abroad.

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the MediGence team promptly assisted the family, and Mr. Rudo Plangger opted to undergo surgery performed by Dr. Murat Tuncer at Medicana Camlica Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey.

A highly regarded nephrologist with more than 20 years of expertise is Dr. Murat Tuncer. He is an expert in internal medicine, nephrology, and organ transplantation. After earning his medical degree from Hacettepe University School of Medicine in 1992, he completed the internal medicine residency program at Akdeniz University School of Medicine in 1998. In addition, he was awarded a fellowship in nephrology by the Akdeniz University School of Medicine in 2001. Turkey’s first tissue-incompatible kidney transplant was performed by Dr. Murat Tuncer. He is a distinguished member of the Turkish Association of Transplantation, the Hepatobiliary Surgery Organization of Turkey, the Transplant Surgeon’s Federation of America, the International Committee for Liver Transplant, and the Transplantation Union for America.

Medicana Camlica, a specialized hospital of the Medicana Group, was established in 1999 and is renowned in Turkey for providing top-notch medical care. This 150-bed facility performs 1500 bypass surgeries and 8000 angiography treatments every year. In addition, the hospital’s nine branches—Internal Disease, Cardiology, Gynecology, General Surgery (Kidney Transplant), Cardiovascular Surgery, ICU, and Radiology—run around the clock.

Pre-Treatment and Surgical Procedure

On February 28, 2018, Mr. Plangger and his donor traveled to Turkey, where they were greeted by a Patient Care representative from MediGence and accommodated at a hotel arranged by the team. Subsequently, the transplant procedure was conducted following comprehensive pre-operative assessments and consultations.

The following day, Mr. Plangger and his donor underwent an initial consultation at Medicana Camlica Hospital, where the transplant surgeon prescribed necessary tests and scheduled a dialysis session to maintain Mr. Plangger’s health until the transplant. Following completion of all required investigations, the paperwork and test results were submitted for Ethics Committee Review, leading to approval and subsequent hospitalization.

Post Treatment

After the successful completion of the surgery, they were both transferred to the recovery area in the evening and to their rooms early the next day. After a day, Mr. Rudo could walk. As he recovered in the hospital, his parameters began to return to normal and he received additional medical attention. Both the patient and the donor experienced an effortless recovery overall.

The patient has not yet attended a few follow-up appointments with the physician, and the donor is well enough to return via plane. MediGence hopes for a quick recovery and a long and healthy life for Mr. Rudo Plangger and his donor.