Surgical Care
Transplant Services At UVa Health System |
UVa A Top Facility - A Leader in Transplantation
The UVa Transplant Center offers superb facilities and an established record of excellence. Our research studies have received international acclaim and have shaped how other transplant programs around the world care for their patients with various diseases, particularly hepatitis B. New therapies for patients with hepatitis C are currently being evaluated with promising early results.
We were the first Medicare approved liver transplant center in Virginia. According to a recent HCFA study, patients who receive transplants at Medicare-approved centers have a 20 percent lower mortality risk than those who receive transplants at non-approved centers.
In addition, the UVa Health System has become a leading donor hospital in our region through combined efforts with our organ procurement organization, LifeNet and our internal resources in administration, nursing, surgery, neurosurgery and the critical care/trauma teams.
Consider Becoming an Organ Donor
One of the keys to a successful organ transplant program is the strength of the organ donation program. The decision one person makes to donate their organs can help save the lives of seven others. To learn how you can register on line to be an organ and tissue donor visit:
A Complete Range of Transplant Services
We provide a full range of transplants for:
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a tissue-typing lab
- a specialized nursing units staffed by skilled nursing professionals who care for transplant patients before and after surgery
- certified Clinical Transplant Coordinators who manage a patients' care from referral throughout the post transplant period
- highly experienced Social Workers who address the various psychosocial concerns of patients and their family members throughout the transplant process
- a dedicated Financial Coordinator to help patients and their family navigate the financial aspects of transplant care
Established in 1967, the UVa kidney transplant program is one of the busiest programs of its kind in the Commonwealth of Virginia. We have worked with over 1,200 kidney recipients, many of whom have been high-risk candidates.
Living Kidney Donation and the Challenge of Organ Supply
Kidney transplantation is recognized as a life saving treatment for ESRD patients, however a persistent national organ shortage has resulted in prolonged waiting times across the country. As a result, the UVa transplant team explores the option of living kidney donation with each patient during the early phases of the evaluation process. Not only does living donation decrease waiting times, but long-term studies have also shown that these organs function earlier and have better function than deceased donor organs.
In addition, we have initiated several innovative protocols to allow more living donor transplants even when the pair are blood type incompatible or have positive cross matches. These protocols and options are discussed, as appropriate, with all patients.
At UVa we offer living donors the option of a laparoscopic approach to removal of the kidney. This approach, although not suitable for all patients, offers some advantages in shortened recovery time and wound healing.
Our Commitment is to our Patients
As with all UVa transplants, the kidney program's primary goal is to improve the quality of life of each patient by maintaining long-term graft function. Many UVa patients are encouraged to participate in clinical and pharmacologic research. Transplant program patients have been an integral part of a number of drug studies, including those exploring new immunosuppressive agents, as well those aimed at reducing the complications of chronic immunosuppression.
Surgeons at the University of Virginia Health System were first in the Commonwealth to perform a pancreas/kidney transplant (1988) and a solitary pancreas transplant (1989). Since then, our transplant surgeons have performed over 80 pancreas transplants; more than any other program in Virginia.
Patient Care with Clinical Research and Innovation
For patients with type I diabetes requiring pancreas transplantation, we have coupled innovative surgical techniques with important research on glucose and insulin metabolism. Building on this considerable experience, the Transplant Center along with the Division of Endocrinology offers an outstanding team of surgeons, nephrologists and diabetologists as well as extensive support staff and other caregivers.
Liver transplantation was first introduced as a clinical procedure in the 1960's and is now recognized as a state-of-the-art therapy for patients with end stage liver disease. The UVa Health System performed its first liver transplant in 1989. Since that time almost 600 liver transplants have been performed at UVa. The Transplant Center serves the citizens of Virginia as well as many out-of-state patients who have been referred for particularly challenging cases, and serves as an international referral center for liver transplants. In 1998 UVa performed the region's first auxiliary liver transplant in a pediatric patient, one of only a handful of such surgeries performed in the world.
Our Team Approach
Our multidisciplinary approach to the care of patients who are awaiting transplantation incorporates:
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aggressive interventional radiologic procedures
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expert pathology analyses
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state-of-the-art liver imaging techniques
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innovative pharmacologic interventions
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advanced surgical management of problems related to ascites
The combination of these options greatly enhances a patient's ability to successfully reach transplantation in the best physical condition possible, which dramatically improves survival and general well-being after transplant.
Heart Transplant
Surgeons at the UVa Medical Center began performing heart transplants in 1989 The multidisciplinary heart transplant team includes physicians in cardiology as well as thoracic and cardiovascular surgeons. The team employs the latest technology such as left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), which can act as a bridge until a transplant organ is available and which improve the survival chances of heart patients.
Lung Transplantation
The University of Virginia has been a leader in the field of lung transplantation in Virginia. Our surgeons performed the first single lung transplant in Virginia in 1991 and the first double lung transplant in Virginia in 1993. Since 1991 over 220 patients have received lung transplants at our center for end stage lung diseases resulting from emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, cystic fibrosis and other lung diseases.
Our multidisciplinary team includes a pulmonologist, a thoracic surgeon, nurse practitioners (transplant coordinators), a social worker, neuropsychologists, and a financial counselor.
Patients who receive lung transplants recuperate in a state of the art intensive care and acute care unit, cared for by physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists specially trained in caring for lung transplant patients. After transplant, these patients are followed closely by a pulmonologist and certified nurse practitioners.
The survival rates for patients who have undergone lung transplantation at our center are above the national average.
The UVa Health System offers a full array of pediatric services including a 37-bed acute care unit, a dedicated pediatric emergency room and advanced life support is provided in a 12-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Pediatric support services include social work, pastoral care and nutrition. Excellent consultation services are also available with such subspecialties as pediatric cardiology and pulmonology. This team approach assures that each child receives optimal therapy during this highly complex process, and the specialists involved in the care of these children work closely to assure that the child and the family are fully prepared for the transplant experience.
A Key to Success: Coordination with your own Doctor
A multidisciplinary approach is essential to ensuring patient satisfaction and promoting long-term survival. This is one of the many reasons why the referring physician is considered to be an integral member of the transplant team. All transplant program patients are expected to follow up with their primary care physicians after discharge from their transplant admission and at regular intervals thereafter. Close collaboration with referring physicians is critical to the success of care delivery.