A 54-year-old grandmother, Lisa Pisano, has become the first recipient of a groundbreaking medical procedure involving a combined pig kidney and mechanical heart transplant.
Suffering from end-stage kidney disease and heart failure, Pisano's health conditions presented significant challenges for conventional treatments. With limited options due to the scarcity of human organ donors, Pisano's doctors at NYU Langone Health in New York proposed an innovative approach.
In a two-stage procedure, surgeons first implanted a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to support her failing heart. Then, on April 12, Pisano underwent a successful pig kidney transplant, which included a pig's thymus gland to reduce the risk of organ rejection.
Nearly two weeks post-surgery, Pisano shows no signs of organ rejection, marking a significant step forward in organ transplantation. Lead surgeon Robert Montgomery expressed optimism about the procedure's potential to save lives and improve the quality of life for patients like Pisano.
With her family hopeful for her recovery, Pisano's journey highlights the intersection of medical science, innovation, and hope for those in need of life-saving organ transplants.
