Piedmont Atlanta Hospital recently completed a rare combined liver and heart transplant, which is the first of its kind in Georgia in ten years and only the second adult dual transplant in the state. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, fewer than 50 liver-heart transplants have been done in the southeastern U.S., showing how complex and uncommon this surgery is. Piedmont Atlanta is one of the busiest transplant centers in the country, ranking among the top ten for liver transplants and the top five for heart transplants based on the number of patients they treat.
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The heart and liver are closely connected, and when one organ isn’t working properly, it can affect the other. Many patients who need transplant surgery have both organs failing, which makes treatment more difficult. Studies show that patients with severe liver damage who only get a heart transplant have a nearly 50 percent risk of death, which shows how important a dual transplant can be.
Dr. Jonathan Hundley, who leads the liver transplant program at Piedmont, said combining liver and heart transplants gives patients with failing organs a better chance of survival. He noted that this approach, which involves multiple specialists working together, can greatly improve results for these complex cases. Dr. Ezequiel Molina, the surgical director of the heart transplant program at Piedmont, added that the success of such surgeries depends on close teamwork between the heart and liver transplant teams.
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In addition to liver-heart transplants, Piedmont also performs other combined transplant procedures, such as kidney-heart, kidney-liver, and kidney-pancreas transplants, which highlights their wide experience in handling multiple organ failures.
This achievement shows Piedmont Atlanta’s dedication to improving transplant care and providing new treatment options for patients with multiple failing organs.
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