Rare double-organ transplant conducted at Israeli children's hospital
In addition to the difficulty involved within a double-organ transplant, doctors also said that they found the donor's internal organs in "reverse order" from normal positioning.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFHilde Amram together with Dr. Orit Visbor(photo credit: Courtesy)
A rare combined liver and pancreas transplant was successfully performed on Monday at Schneider's Children Medical Hospital, part of the Clalit medical group.Hila Amram, 13, received the transplant after her long battle with a congenital heart disease, which led to liver failure and diabetes. Amram needed the combined liver and pancreas transplant in order to save her life - a very rare and unique transplant, led by Dr. Michael Gurevich, Dr. Sigal Eisner, Dr. Orit Weisbord, Dr. Yael Moser and transplant coordinator Michal Shafir.In addition to the difficulty involved within a double-organ transplant, doctors also said that they found the donor's internal organs in "reverse order" from normal positioning, requiring a high degree of skill from the surgeons to correct the issue."When Hila was born we were told that she would need a liver transplant during her lifetime, but it was not known when... At the end of January, her condition deteriorated and we waited for a liver transplant for two months that seemed like an eternity. Thoughts, fears, life is simply 'born,' a hard, nerve-racking feeling. Until you get to this place, you can not understand it," commented Sarit Amram, Hila's mother.During the course of March, nine organ transplant surgeries were performed at the Schneider Children's Center, including a heart transplant, liver and pancreas transplant, two liver lobe transplants, and five kidney transplants were completed, according to the statement released by children's center. Since its establishment, more than 600 heart, lung, liver and kidney transplants have been performed on children of all ages, with success rates equal to those of the top medical centers in the world.
