Transplant News | Penn Medicine

Penn Tests Revolutionary New Lung Transplant Technique

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 14:19:01 +0000

In continuing coverage, KYW Newsradio reports that Penn Medicine is among an elite group testing a revolutionary technique for preserving and even improving lungs donated for transplant. The lungs are the most delicate of transplantable organs says Penn transplant surgeon Edward Cantu, MD, interim director, Lung Transplantation Program. When brain death occurs, lung tissue can become damaged, rendering many donated organs unsuitable. “Currently we use organs from about 15 to 20 percent of potential donors. If we can increase that number to 50 to 80 percent, somewhere between two to four times as many organs will be available with the same outcome.” To achieve that, this technique uses profusion and ventilation, which first runs a special fluid though blood vessels to dry the lungs and then basically “breathes” the lungs prior to implant. Dr. Cantu says this allows the lungs to heal themselves of the damage done by the harmful chemical reaction. CP

Penn Aims to Save More Lives by Saving More Donor Lungs

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:58:55 +0000

A front page article in the Sunday edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer details a new clinical trial underway at Penn Medicine testing technology aimed at improving the pool of available lungs for transplantation. Lung transplantation remains daunting almost 30 years after the first successful operations by transplant pioneer Joel Cooper, MD, professor of Surgery. The new trial is testing a process that involves cleaning and refurbishing donor lungs while the organ "breathes" in a specially designed machine. Lungs that would normally be discarded can be tuned up, evaluated, and, in many cases, reused. In a recently published clinical study in Canada, 86 percent of risky lungs became acceptable for transplant. Penn transplant surgeon Edward Cantu, MD, believes the advance, could save thousands of lives a year. "We could reduce the number of people who die waiting for lungs, and reduce the number who die" because their new lungs fail soon after surgery, he said. CP

Nightline 1/4: Lindsay Ess' Story: Getting New Hands

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:54:22 +0000

Friday evening's episode of Nightline featured the inspiring story of Lindsay Ess, Penn Medicine's first bilateral hand transplant recipient. A quadruple amputee, Lindsay lost her hands and feet to a sepsis infection five years ago. The 29-year-old's arms had been amputated just below the elbow, so simple tasks, such as feeding herself and putting on her prosthetic legs, became impossible without help. In September 2011, led by L. Scott Levin, MD, FACS, chair of Orthopaedic Surgery, two teams of surgeons at Penn Medicine worked for nearly 12 hours to perform a cutting-edge operation to give her new hands. In a few months after having surgery, Lindsay made remarkable progress. Her doctors saw she could extend and move her wrists and fingers, begin to sense hot and cold and even pick up lightweight objects ahead of schedule. Lindsay has at least two more years of daily therapy ahead of her, but today, her recovery is ahead of schedule and she is regaining function everyday.

Quadruple Amputee Gets Two New Hands on Life

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 14:29:49 +0000

A feature article posted on ABCNews.com previews tonight's Nightline broadcast, which focuses on Penn Medicine's first bilateral hand transplant recipient. The culmination of more than two years of filming, the episode tells the story of a quadruple amputee's mental, physical and emotional journey through the process of receiving new hands and regaining her independence. In September 2011, two teams of Penn Medicine surgeons worked for nearly 12 hours to perform a cutting-edge operation that has only been attempted about 60 times. After the surgery, L.Scott Levin, MD, FACS, chair of Orthopaedic Surgery and lead surgeon on the case, said the initial signs for recovery were good. "This is more than we could ever hope for," he said at the time. "This is, if you will, a picture perfect course so far." Today, the patient is living independently, and the prognosis for both hands couldn't be better. Nightline airs at 11:35pm EST tonight on ABC affiliates across the country.

HUP Celebrates 1,000th Heart Transplant

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 14:20:25 +0000

KYW Newsradio reports that doctors at HUP celebrated a milestone, the 1,000th heart transplant. Penn’s transplant program is among the top three in the nation with 25 years of experience, performing between 50 and 60 heart transplants a year. Lee Goldberg, MD, medical director of the Heart Failure and Transplantation program, says the science of transplantation has improved tremendously over the years. “Over the past several years there have been improvements to keep people alive with advanced heart failure so they are in better shape when they get to their transplant. And then at the time of transplant, we’re using newer medications and techniques to prevent rejection and also to prevent infection and some of the other side effects we saw years ago,” says Dr. Goldberg. Dr. Goldberg says it takes a team of people to make a transplant happen; nurses, doctors, social workers and many others. He says it’s an honor to be a part of a medical marvel. CP

Trends in Hand Transplant Programs

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:21:39 +0000

An article from the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that a year after a young amputee left the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with transplanted hands and forearms, the lead surgeon calls her progress "nothing less than spectacular." "She's now living independently," said L. Scott Levin, director of the Penn Hand Transplant Program, of the patient. "She can take off her lower extremity prostheses with her hands. She's tolerating her medications extremely well." However, the article suggests there exists an ironic trend: Availability of the complex reconstructive surgery has been growing faster than demand for it. Of approximately two dozen hand transplant programs worldwide, 10 are in the United States. Two years after launching, two of the American centers have done no transplants. Five, including Penn, have each had one patient. Although only about 80 people worldwide have received hands since the first successful operation in 1998, outcomes have been reassuringly good.

With New Technique, Penn Doctors 'Recondition' Lung for Transplant

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 15:29:50 +0000

In continuing coverage, WHYY radio reports that a team of Penn doctors is hopeful a new technique will increase the number of viable lungs for patients awaiting a transplant. Not all donor lungs are suitable for transplant surgery. So what if doctors could repair these lungs? Edward Cantu, MD, assistant professor of Surgery, and his transplant team successfully performed the first "ex vivo lung perfusion" transplantation in this region. They took a donated lung that would have been unusable and placed it in a sterile plastic dome attached to a ventilator, tubes, and filters. It was then pumped with a solution of nutrients, proteins, and oxygen. "So the lung is being treated as if it were in the body but without any of the toxins that are in the body at the time of death. We have about four hours to assess the lung’s function," said Cantu. The new technique is being used in Europe and Canada, but in the U.S., it's only being done as part of a clinical trial taking place at six sites. CP

Penn Performs First Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion Transplant

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 14:06:25 +0000

In the U.S., only about 15 percent of donated lungs stay healthy enough to transplant. Now, 6ABC reports that surgeons at Penn have successfully used a new technique that repairs damaged donated lungs that would have been unusable, allowing for successful transplantation of the reconditioned lungs into a patient. Edward Cantu, MD, assistant professor of Surgery, says the new technique, being tested via a clinical trial, is called ex vivo lung perfusion. Using a special device, doctors can repair damaged donor lungs. "We can profuse it and ventilate it at body temperature, that allows the lung to recover function," Dr. Cantu said. Although still being tested, Dr. Cantu says "This technology may allow us to do maybe four times as many transplants as we currently do." CP

Penn Medicine Surgeons Perform First Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion Transplantation in the Philadelphia Region

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Transplant surgeons at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have successfully used a new technique that repairs damaged donated lungs that would have been unusable, allowing for successful transplantation of the reconditioned lungs into a patient. The patient, a 66-year-old man from the Philadelphia suburbs, was transplanted at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) and is the first in the region to receive donated lungs using this new procedure.

Penn Medicine Performs 1000th Heart Transplant

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of the program, Penn Medicine physicians have completed their 1000th lifesaving heart transplant at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Richmond Woman With Double Hand Transplants Loves Talking With Them

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 14:25:41 +0000

A patient who received a double hand and forearm transplant at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania a year and two months ago now loves talking with her hands, reports CBS6 in Richmond. The rare procedure involved a team of 30 surgeons, nurses and anesthesiologists for more than 12 hours. The patient expressed her appreciation for her mother, donor, and the Penn team led by L. Scott Levin, MD, FACS, director of the Penn Hand Transplant Program and chair of Orthopaedic Surgery, and the hundreds of others who have helped along the way.

Sandy fails to thwart Philadelphia-area organ transplants

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 15:30:38 +0000

An article from the Philadelphia Inquirer tells the story of two Penn Medicine patients who braved severe weather conditions during Hurricane Sandy to receive new organs. Jack Vaughn, a patient suffering from severe congestive heart failure, was taking drugs that not only kept him alive, but also placed him below the highest priorities for transplants. When a matched heart became available as Sandy's winds picked up, airport closures meant that the heart could not be flown out of the region to sicker patients across the country, said Nicole Hornsby, a transplant coordinator at HUP. Hornsby contacted Vaughn and arranged for an ambulance escort to bring him and his wife to HUP. Francis Barnes had energy and a can-do attitude despite his cancerous liver and chronic Hepatitis C. So when HUP called at the height of the storm, he turned down the offer of an ambulance and jumped in his car.

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers Goes to Penn Medicine Researcher

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 16:00:00 +0000

A physician from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has received the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

First Bilateral Hand Transplant in the Region Performed at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 +0000

For the first time in the Delaware Valley Region, a patient has undergone a complex and intricate bilateral hand transplant that could significantly enhance the quality-of-life for persons with multiple limb loss. The procedure was performed by Penn's Hand Transplant Program which operates under the leadership of the Penn Transplant Institute and in collaboration with Gift of Life Donor Program, the nonprofit organ and tissue donor program which serves the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware. The highly-trained team's first bilateral hand transplant was performed in September. At this time, the patient is progressing well and both the patient and donor family wish to remain anonymous.

Region's First Bilateral Hand Transplant Performed at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:00:00 +0000

For the first time in the Delaware Valley Region, a patient has undergone a complex and intricate transplant procedure that could significantly enhance the quality-of-life for persons with multiple limb loss. In September, a highly-skilled, specially-trained team from the newly established Penn Hand Transplant Program at the Penn Transplant Institute performed its first bilateral hand transplant. Working closely with its partner, Gift of Life Donor Program, a team of 30 members – 12 surgeons, three anesthesiologists and 15 nurses – performed the 11-and-a-half hour double transplant procedure – a Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation – that involved experts in solid organ transplantation, orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery, reconstructive microsurgery and anesthesia. Details of this history-making procedure will be forthcoming a press conference tomorrow at 10 am at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Penn Medicine Establishes Hand Transplant Program

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:00:00 +0000

The Penn Transplant Institute, the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Division of Plastic Surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) have collaborated to form the Penn Hand Transplant Program. The Program will operate under the leadership of the Penn Transplant Institute and in collaboration with the Gift of Life Donor Program, the nonprofit organ and tissue donor program which serves the eastern half of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware.

Understanding Donor-Recipient Genetics Could Decrease Early Kidney Transplant Complications, Penn Study Suggests

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found an association between the genetics of donor-recipient matches in kidney transplants and complications during the first week after transplantation. The team, led by Malek Kamoun MD, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Director of the Clinical Immunology and Histocompatibility Laboratory, and Harold Feldman MD, MSCE, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, has shown that small differences in the building blocks of cell-surface proteins used to match donors and recipients for deceased-donor kidney transplantation was associated with an increased risk for delayed allograft function, or DGF.

PENN Medicine to Build Philadelphia's First Adult Transplant House

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

PENN Medicine announced today the creation of the Clyde F. Barker Transplant House, a 'home away from home' designed to help ease the unique economic and emotional stresses of transplant families. Modeled after the Ronald McDonald Houses and named for the physician who performed the first kidney transplant at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in 1966, the Barker Transplant House will be located at 3940 Spruce Street on Penn's campus and will offer comfortable, convenient accommodations in a supportive community setting - all at a nominal cost.

Penn Researchers Propose Major Changes to Informed Consent for Transplantation

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 12:00:00 +0000

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine physicians and bioethicists are calling for a new, more standardized way for patients in need of organ transplants to be informed of the risks they face. If adopted, their policy recommendations could promote greater equity in how organs are allocated while restricting patients’ abilities to “cherry-pick” the best organs.

Penn Cardiac Surgeons First in Northeast to Implant Temporary Total Artificial Heart

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 12:00:00 +0000

A 46-year-old former fitness instructor, suffering from biventricular end-stage heart failure and in irreversible cardiogenic shock, became the first to receive a new temporary Total Artificial Heart in the Northeast U.S. The artificial heart was implanted by cardiac surgeons at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. The patient later received a donor heart.

The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Celebrates Giving the Gift of Life

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 12:00:00 +0000

Members of the media are invited to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) for the first annual Delaware Valley Health Council Gift of Life Award presentation. The award was established last year to recognize a hospital for excellence in family care and outstanding rates of organ donation.

Hearts Transplanted from Hepatitis C Donors Associated with Lower Survival Rates

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 12:00:00 +0000

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine have found that heart transplant patients who receive a donor heart from a person with hepatitis C (HCV) have a lower rate of survival. Corresponding Author Leanne Gasink, MD, MSCE, of the University of Pennsylvania's Division of Infectious Disease and colleagues report their findings in the October 17th issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.