Dr. Alan Hemming discussing how the patient’s liver was removed from the body, cooled, treated and returned tumor free.
Radical Surgery Saves Life of Young Mom, California First
Liver Removed, Reconstructed, Re-Implanted
A team led by Alan Hemming, MD, transplant surgeon at UC San Diego Health System, has successfully performed the west coast’s first ex-vivo liver resection, a radical procedure to completely remove and reconstruct a diseased liver and re-implant it without any tumors. The procedure saved the life of a 27-year old mother whose liver had been invaded by a painful tumor that crushed the organ and entangled its blood supply.
“During a 9-hour surgery the team was able to remove the basketball-sized tumor,” said Hemming, professor and surgical director of the Center for Hepatobiliary Disease and Abdominal Transplantation (CHAT) at UC San Diego Health System. “This is a surgery that carries a 15 to 20 percent risk of mortality. In this case, the patient would not have survived if she did not have surgery. This was the only way we could save her liver and her life.”
Domino Liver Transplant Treats Two Rare Diseases, World First
For the first time ever, a surgical team led by Alan Hemming, MD, has successfully performed a domino transplant using a liver with a rare genetic disorder called methylmalonic acidemia (MMA).
“This extraordinary procedure allowed us to use one donated liver to save two lives,” said Hemming, professor and co-director of the Center for Hepatobiliary Disease and Abdominal Transplantation (CHAT) at UC San Diego Health System. “This procedure is technically more difficult but allows us to expand the number of patients who can benefit from this lifesaving surgery.”
The first transplant recipient, Rafael Bolanos, 28, suffered from MMA, a metabolic disease that causes a toxic build up of amino acids in the body. He faced coma and irreversible neurologic damage. The second patient, James Ogara, 62, was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic liver disease caused by scarring of the bile ducts.
UC San Diego Health System Opens Comprehensive Liver Clinic in Nevada
Patients in Nevada seeking care for liver disease may now access the university-level expertise of UC San Diego Health System’s Center for Hepatobiliary Disease and Abdominal Transplantation (CHAT). Led by Robert Gish, MD, world-renowned hepatologist, patients may benefit by having access to a full spectrum of liver care, from diagnostics and testing to novel therapies and clinical trials not found anywhere else in the state. Located at 3033 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway, Suite 101, in the city of Henderson, patients may make appointments by calling toll free 1-855-LV LIVER (1-855-585-4837) or 1-702-331-6303.
“I am so grateful to be able to return to the Las Vegas community to practice advanced liver care and to provide local and regional tertiary care for the patients in this region,” said Gish. “Even if you have been told that your liver disease is untreatable, there is hope for you through UC San Diego Health System experts who will come here to care for you.”
