In the transplant center of the Roosevelt Hospital in Banská Bystrica performed the first ever combined liver and kidney transplantation from a single donor during a single operation. A 45-year-old patient with genetically determined polycystic disease of both organs completed the demanding procedure. TASR was informed about this by hospital spokesperson Ružena Maťašeje.
“The patient did not only suffer from the gradual failure of the liver and kidneys. The organs were so enlarged that they significantly limited her in everyday life. The so-called oppression syndrome arose, in which the size of the organs itself causes serious health problems.” explained the head of the transplantation surgery clinic Július Janek, who operated on the woman.
She suffered from a rare genetic disease in which numerous cysts form in the organs. They gradually grow, increase the volume of organs and cause them to fail and oppress the surrounding organs. The patient’s affected liver weighed 18 kilograms after the operation. During the roughly five-hour operation, doctors first removed the damaged liver and one of the kidneys to make room for new organs.
“Combined liver and kidney transplantation is one of the most complex procedures in transplant surgery and is performed only in a small group of patients who need a transplant of both organs at the same time,” added Igor Slobodník, head of the transplant surgery clinic.
The patient waited for this procedure for approximately two and a half years. According to nephrologists, at the time she was put on the waiting list, she was already close to needing dialysis. “We were able to transplant both organs at the perfect time, when she didn’t need dialysis. From a nephrological point of view, it was the best possible scenario for her.” added nephrologist from the internal clinic Martina Konkoľová.
