Groundbreaking combination surgeries give New Jersey grandmother new life.
On Wednesday, doctors at NYU Langone detailed the complex procedures, one of which involved a pig kidney transplant.
This innovative technology could give hope to the thousands of people currently waiting on organ donor lists.
Lisa Pisano, 54, did not have long to live due to a number of serious health problems, including heart failure, diabetes and end-stage renal failure that required ongoing dialysis. Due to the number of complications, she was not a candidate for existing interventions.
So NYU surgeons came up with a cutting-edge treatment option: combination surgeries that would give Pisano a mechanical heart and a transplanted pig kidney.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Pisano’s team of doctors announced astonishing news: the procedures were a success.
Mechanical heart surgery, which involves implanting a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) into the chest to help it pump, was performed for the first time on April 4 by Dr. Nader Moazami. This operation was followed on April 12 by a xenotransplantation using a genetically modified pig kidney to replace Pisano’s failing kidney. This operation was carried out by Dr. Robert Montgomery, who performed the world’s first pig-to-human organ transplant via genetic modification in September 2021.
In March, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston made headlines for a successful pig kidney transplant in a 62-year-old man who left the hospital in good condition in early April.
What sets Pisano’s case apart is the fact that doctors were able to treat two life-threatening conditions simultaneously: heart failure and kidney failure. This procedure was also different because the pig kidney used had only one genetic modification.
“By using pigs with a single genetic modification, we can better understand the role that a key stable change in the genome may have in making xenotransplantation a viable alternative,” said Montgomery, director of the NYU Transplant Institute, in a Press release. “Since these pigs can be bred and do not require cloning like more complex genetic modifications, this is a sustainable and scalable solution to the organ shortage. If we want to start saving more lives quickly, the answer will be to use fewer modifications and drugs.
Incredible need, with little supply
Since organ transplants began in the 1950s, the list of people in need has grown exponentially. More than 100,000 people are currently on the waiting list for an organ and 17 people die every day while waiting for an organ transplant. The greatest need is for kidneys – with 89,360 people waiting for an organ and fewer than 25,000 transplants each year due to the scarcity of donors.
With the introduction of xenotransplantation – using animal organs for transplants – this list could be reduced significantly, potentially saving thousands of lives.
Last year, Montgomery also participated in a medical breakthrough when a pig kidney functioned for a record 61 days in a brain-dead man, Maurice “Mo” Miller. (After 61 days, the pig kidney was removed and the man’s body was returned to his family for cremation.) This heroic donation paved the way for living transplants this year — and paved the way to potentially save thousands of lives around the world. the future.
Similar trials of transplanting pig kidneys into brain-dead individuals have also been successful at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Pisano’s complex procedure marks the sixth xenotransplantation performed by Montgomery since 2021.
“Eternally grateful for what you have done”
Speaking from her hospital bed on Wednesday, recipient Lisa Pisano expressed gratitude to the team of doctors and nurses who gave her a new lease of life.
“I feel better in a long time – and I can’t thank anyone enough for that,” Pisano said.
The mother and grandmother went on to say that although it was a difficult decision, she felt she had to give it a try because, “in the worst case scenario, if it doesn’t work, it might work for her.” next person.”
Pisano’s husband, Todd, who met his wife in high school in 1985, was equally moved, saying he was “extremely grateful” to the doctors who performed the surgery.
“I don’t want to speak for my entire family, but I think I can, when I say we are forever grateful for what you have done,” Todd said while addressing doctors at the press conference. He added that he hoped more people could benefit from a pig kidney in the future.
Pisano’s daughter, Brittany Harvill, described her mother as “independent” and “very strong” and said her illnesses put a damper on that. She also hoped the transplant would allow her to come home and spend time with her grandchildren.
“I saw her for the first time after the operation – and even this morning – and she seemed to have been the most beautiful and beautiful she had ever been seen in years,” Harvill said.
Pig kidney transplants are far from a routine surgical procedure. The Food and Drug Administration grants special cases of “compassionate use” in circumstances where other approved lifesaving measures have been exhausted and an investigational treatment or drug may be able to help.
Although Pisano still has a long road to recovery, doctors said the first 24 hours after surgery are often crucial to see if the patient’s body will reject the donated organ — and in this case, Pisano won’t. showed no signs of rejection.
New York Post
