Oscar Larranzar, 41, received a bladder and a kidney from the same donor in an eight -hour operation. This innovation can transform the treatment of patients with serious bladder disorders, offering an alternative to artificial reconstitutions or ostomy bags.
Surgeons have successfully performed in the United States a human bladder transplant, a worldwide innovation that can be a turning point for patients suffering from serious bladder disorders.
Oscar Larranzar, 41, who has been dialysis for seven years, was the beneficiary of the transplant.
The man had to remove much of the bladder for several years due to cancer and then had both kidneys removed, explained the (UCLA), one of the two universities involved in a statement.
Encouraging results with immediate improvement of renal function
Larranzar received a bladder and kidney – from the same donor – during an approximately eight -hour operation, held in early May at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Hospital in Los Angeles, California (southwest).
“The surgeons first transplanted the kidney, then the bladder and then connected the kidney to the new bladder using the technique they developed,” the university said.
The results were encouraging and almost instantaneous, said one of the surgeons, Nima Nassiri.
“The kidney immediately produced a large volume of urine and the patient’s renal function immediately improved (…) No dialysis was required after the operation and urine flowed correctly to the new bladder, “he added.
“This surgery represents a historic moment in medicine and can transform the treatment of patients with bladders that no longer work,” insisted Inderir Gill, who collided the operation.
Operation carried out after four years of preparation
Bladder transplants are considered very complex, mainly due to the difficulties of access to the area and the large number of blood vessels.
Therefore, patients were only offered artificial reconstruction of the bladder using a digestive tract or the insertion of an ostomy bag, an external prosthesis capable of collecting the urine.
These interventions are effective, but they cause “numerous short and long term risks,” Gill said.
Nima Nassiri and Inderiri Gill have been working for years in developing a surgical technique to allow bladder transplants.
The first transplant occurs after more than four years of preparation and should be followed by others, as part of a clinical trial that should allow to evaluate the benefits and risks of this type of operation.
