LTU Celebrates 30 Years since first transplant!

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5 years 4 months ago #137 by Sarah
TBT: On June 20, 1988 – 30 years ago – the first liver transplant in Victoria was performed at the Austin Hospital.!

First transplant patient Emil Pertot underwent an epic and risky 16-hour procedure.

Years later, anaesthetist Larry McNicol recalled that “for months he kept pleading with Bob and myself to be our first transplant. He defied all the odds to not only pull through the operation – which included nearly every complication – but to survive a major allergic reaction to one of the immunosuppressive drugs he needed in the postoperative period. He went on to live for 13 years,” A/Prof McNicol said.



In 2007, the unit made history again, by slicing off a portion of Jennifer Nish’s liver and transplanting into her one year-old son Dylan, saving the tiny child’s life.

The team celebrated many more ‘firsts’ over the years – from that first transplant and first paediatric transplant in 1988, to split liver transplants (where an adult and a child are transplanted from the same donor) and a living related procedure (where part of an adult’s liver is transplanted into a child) in 2007, and Australia’s first intestinal transplant in both an adult and a child, in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

In recent years, the team has performed an increasing number of complex, multi-organ transplants.

Incredibly, the Unit is still led by founding members Medical Director Professor Peter Angus and Director Professor Bob Jones. Happy 30th birthday LTU!
The following user(s) said Thank You: kenb, Jules

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