Any surgeons/doctors on this site?

[dgh64]

I was just wondering if there was anyone here who knows about kidney transplants, because I was under the impression they are generally done from the back, not the front like they did in this episode.

My only source of information on this is an episode of The Simpsions (reliable source, yeah right) in which Homer donated a kidney to his father, and at the end he had a kidney-shaped scar on his back.

Anyway, does anyone know for real? Because I do know that kidneys are much closer to the back than the front.

[Lahela]

I did a quick google search and it seems that they writers got it right. The transplanted kidney goes in the abdomen, and the donor's kidney can be removed from the front. I'm guessing they did it that way for convenience, so Greer could lie on his back and interact with the other characters, but it is medically do-able.

[dgh64]

Ah, okay. I had a transparent model of a man with removable organs when I was a kid, and I remember the kidneys sitting right up against his back. Just seems a little strange that they'd decide to go through Greer's front, having to go past all the intestines and whatever to get to the kidney, but if that's a possibility in real life then I'm okay with it.

[escyos]

Actually they perform kidney transplants through the ear.......i don't know I'm not a doctor yet....and even then I wont be a medical doctor, I'll be an archaeological doctor.

[Lahela]

I actually read about one case where they removed the donor kidney through... *ahem*... an orifice that only women have. Made me squirm.

[Hitokage]

It is not problem to do it from front...I am not doctor but mum is a nurse
BTW I was surprised how it looks...It seemed really real

[Amann]

I am not a doctor, but I play one on TV. THE Doctor

[Hyndara71]

One of my brothers had kidney-cancer years ago. The doctors had to remove one kidney complete, the other one they had ... rescued, but only one half of it. Maybe a regional question but they went through the sides of his chest.

Uhm, that's not only a critic about SGU, I see and hear that from many shows and movies. But do you know how small the chance is to find someone compatible with you? My parents had six children and no one of us can donor his or her kidney to my brother. The only person was our mother, and she was sick herself and couldn't help.

[carmencatalina]

I'm not a medical doctor, but I'm a geneticist - I can say that T.J. discussion of donor matching (the need for a good match at 6 HLA loci for a donation) was accurate. The bit about using the donor's stem cells to sort of prime the recipient's immune system using Ancient methods, that was science fiction (although it is something that is being researched and worked on, so only science fiction by a bit!).

She said that Greer and the other guy were matches for Volker at 4 HLA loci, which isn't too surprising. In the real world, that wouldn't be a close enough match for a transplant, but I suppose using the Ancient stem-cell method, it can be in our science fiction world.

So I would give them a A+ for the genetics they discussed. (Which is surprising - this stuff is usually terrible on science fiction show.)

Can't comment on the surgical procedures!

[Da Vikster the Ori]

I'm a first year medical student (at Oxford, same as Dr Rush ;D ) and my dad is a surgeon and SG fan, and my sister is also a medical student 2 years ahead of me, so I'm fairly safe in saying it is very rare to take it from the front like they did there, because it is in the back, the closest you'd get is a subcostal incision [ie in your side below your ribs] to remove the kidney. You would implant the donor kidney into the iliac fossa though, so that part was relatively accurate. Ish. Chimerism does actually also occur when you have a marrow transplant, and people who have undergone marrow transplants e.g. due to leukemia do exhibit chimerism, but the stem cell bit is science fiction, but like mentioned earlier, not as fiction-ey as people [including my medical tutor] are looking into this kind of thing, and it shows some potential.

I usually do the silent-stalky thing on gateworld, but I thought this time I'd make a contribution for a change

The worst part is, I was watching stargate to avoid revising for my medical exams when I get back [it's my vacation right now] and stargate came to taunt me with this >.>

[carmencatalina]

I usually do the silent-stalky thing on gateworld, but I thought this time I'd make a contribution for a change

Thanks for chiming in!
(Good luck with your exams!)

[P-90_177]

I am not a doctor, but I play one on TV. THE Doctor

Oh you mean the annoying EMH from Voyager. Nice to meet you.

Actually they perform kidney transplants through the ear.......i don't know I'm not a doctor yet....and even then I wont be a medical doctor, I'll be an archaeological doctor.

Still one up on the majority of people here.

[Ben 'Teal'c would WIN!!' Noble]

Did they actually say Rush went to Oxford?

Da Vikster the Ori, are you from Leeds originally?

[Egle01]

Did they actually say Rush went to Oxford?

He said so himself in "Air" pt 3.

[garhkal]

So I would give them a A+ for the genetics they discussed. (Which is surprising - this stuff is usually terrible on science fiction show.)

Can't comment on the surgical procedures!

That is one of the things i have always loved about Stargate... Their scifi tech discussions do seem more 'grounded'..