A liver transplant operation, which lasted nine hours, was executed successfully at Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) last week. This is the first liver transplant procedure performed since the transplant unit resumed full activity.
The patient, a 56-year-old male who suffers from a serious disease, had been waiting for the past two years to find a suitable liver. He is in stable condition.
The team at the HMO transplant unit was led by Dr. Hadar Merhav and assisted by Prof. Gidi Zamir and Dr. Ram Elazari. Dr. Merhav said of the procedure: "The patient suffered from advanced stage liver disease and the transplant was complex. I’m very pleased that the teamwork went smoothly, without any unpredictable complications and that the new liver is functioning.”
Hadassah’s transplant unit recently returned to its normal activity, approved by Prof. Rafi Beyar, Chairman of the steering committee of the National Transplant Center.
Hadassah is centralizing transplants in a single center, which will take care of patients requiring transplants of any kind. This new clinic will allow Hadassah to concentrate all of the experts under one roof, including social workers, nephrologists, surgeons, and cardiologists. The center will take advantage of the facilities of the new advanced operating rooms that are scheduled to be ready at HMO over the next few months.
Interim Director General of Hadassah, Prof. Tamar Peretz, emphasized that around 30 transplants a year were completed at HMO over the past several years and the results passed every international standard. "Hadassah is committed to the continuation of the transplant center as an essential public service, a symbol of excellency and a magnet for academic research," Prof. Peretz said.