The procedure was performed at the Department and Clinic of General Transplantation and Liver Surgery of the Medical University of Warsaw, headed by Professor Michał Grąt – the youngest head of a surgical clinic in the country.

University spokesperson Jarosław Kulczycki said the operation involved dividing an organ taken from a deceased donor and transplanting the right part of the liver for one recipient and the left part of the liver for the other recipient. More such surgeries are expected to be performed soon. As a result, it will be possible to increase the number of transplantations, which is extremely important due to the insufficient number of available organs.

The method is also an opportunity for liver transplantation for patients with low body weight, for whom the waiting time for surgery and the associated risk of death is significant. In this case, one liver taken from a deceased donor can save the lives of two people.

The specialists say that both parts of the liver started functioning after being transplantated. The patients are in good condition, without any postoperative complications.

Kulczycki said that launching the split liver transplantation program was a huge medical and organizational challenge. However, the specialists at the Department and Clinic of General, Transplantation and Liver Surgery of the Medical University of Warsaw have many years of experience in the full range of various types of liver and biliary tract operations. 

Kulczycki said: “The ability of transplanted liver fragments to function properly depends on many factors, including the implementation of complex vascular anastomoses ensuring good blood supply and outflow.”

The pioneering transplantation was performed by 15 surgeons, two anesthesiologists, a radiologist, five instrumentalists and four nurse anesthetists.

The implantation of the left segments of the liver was carried out by a team consisting of: Professor Michał Grąt (operator), Dr. Maciej Krasnodębski (assist) and Dr. Adam Bołtuć (assist). Hepatectomy, i.e. removal of the diseased organ of the recipient, was performed by: Dr. Krzysztof Dudek (operator), Dr. Jan Stypułkowski (assist) and Dr. Andryi Zhylko (assist). The anesthesia was performed by Dr. Paula Dudek. Implantation of the right liver segments was performed by a team consisting of: Dr. Piotr Smoter (operator), Dr. Konrad Kobryń (assistant), Dr. Emilia Kruk (assist). Hepatectomy was performed by Dr. Ireneusz Grzelak (operator), Dr. Marta Przybysz (assist), Dr. Emilia Kruk (assist). The anesthesia was performed by Dr. Jolanta Piwowarska.

The liver, collected from a deceased donor by Dr. Rafał Stankiewicz (operator) and Dr. Mateusz Bartkowiak (assist), was split by Professor Waldemar Patkowski, assisted by Dr. Paweł Rykowski. The transplantation involved a nursing team consisting of: Anna Wąsik, Katarzyna Wójcik, Karolina Kiełek, Marzena Kaczmarska, Joanna Petryka (instrumentalists) and: Joanna Kosińska, Patrycja Figarska, Agata Małek and Weronika Karnkowska (anesthetist). The procedure was coordinated by Krzysztof Zając.

The Medical University of Warsaw is a leading transplantation centre in Poland. Almost every fourth vascularised organ, such as the kidney, liver and pancreas, is transplanted in the Medical University of Warsaw clinics. In 2022, 340 transplantations of vascularised organs were carried out at the Medical University of Warsaw, 23 percent of all transplantation performed in transplant centres across the country.

Professor Wojciech Lisik, vice-rector for clinical matters and investments said: “Almost half of all pancreas transplantation procedures in Poland, more than half of liver transplantations and almost half of kidney transplantations from a living donor are performed at the Medical University of Warsaw.”

According to the Polish Transplant Coordinating Centre 'Poltransplant', 1,399 organs were transplanted in Poland in 2022 (over 120 more than the year before). (PAP)

Author: Zbigniew Wojtasiński

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