Vanderbilt University Medical Center recently performed its first combined lung and liver transplant.
Connie Rankin of Memphis, Tennessee, received the transplant, which involved dozens of specialists, including transplant teams for both organs.
Rankin said she was diagnosed in 2001 with sarcoidosis, a rare autoimmune disease that causes excess tissue to develop in organs of the body. It affected both her liver and lungs. Her lung function got worse over the years, but she was able to live with it until 2022, when she contracted COVID-19, and her breathing became much worse. Doctors estimated she had two years to live if she didn’t get a transplant.
“She was at end stage when we met her for the first time,” said Matthew Bacchetta, MD, MBA, professor of Cardiac Surgery and Biomedical Engineering. He performed her lung transplant.
VUMC placed her on the transplant list in May 2023. She was only on the waiting list for 24 hours, when Rankin’s phone rang: Her matching organs were available.
The transplant was complicated. Surgeons first removed one of her lungs and placed her on ECMO, a life-sustaining mechanical system that temporarily takes over for the heart and lungs of critically ill patients. Then the liver team completed her liver transplant, while her donor lungs were preserved in a new laboratory-grade refrigerator. Bacchetta said the refrigerator allows organs to be preserved for up to 20 hours, a major increase from the typical eight hours, allowing for longer and more complex multi-organ transplants.
After the liver transplant was complete, the lung team completed its transplant.
“There aren’t many institutions that could do that well and provide this type of outcome for her,” Bacchetta said.
“This case really shows the Vanderbilt Transplant Center’s commitment to our patients, using a multidisciplinary approach to offer personalized care and achieve the best outcomes,” said Martin Montenovo, MD, MMHC, chief of the Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation in the Department of Surgery. “We have the resources, we have the expertise, and we have the innovation to make complex transplants successful.”
Despite some complications, Rankin recovered well and made it home in time for the Thanksgiving holidays. “There are more milestones to accomplish, and my healing continues, but life is so much better already,” she said.
Read more about the pioneering transplant surgeries and Rankin's experience in this article from the VUMC Reporter by Matt Batcheldor.
