Beaumont Hospitals Launches New Liver Transplant Program

Beaumont Hospitals Launches New Liver Transplant Program
Article Date: 02 Sep 2010 - 2:00 PDT


"Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak became Michigan's third liver transplant center on Aug. 31. A 59-year-old man from Royal Oak was the first patient to receive a liver transplant through Beaumont's new multi-organ transplant program.

Under the leadership of Alan J. Koffron, M.D., director of multi-organ transplantation, Beaumont expanded its 38-year-old kidney transplant program to include liver transplants. Beaumont's 17-member transplant team includes three surgeons, two hepatologists, two transplant nephrologists, transplant nurses, a social worker, a patient financial advisor and administrative staff.

Dr. Koffron, who joined Beaumont two years ago from Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, is one of the world's leading innovators in laparoscopic and live-donor liver transplantation. He's the world's most experienced surgeon for minimally invasive live-donor liver retrievals.

Beaumont plans to offer both traditional (deceased-donor) and live-donor liver transplant services, laparoscopic liver surgery and minimally invasive liver donor surgery."
...
Along with liver donor transplants, Beaumont surgeons also perform
autologous transplant surgeries for patients with cancerous liver
tumors. In an autologous transplant, the patient's liver is removed,
the tumor is cut away, and the liver is replaced in the patient.

Liver transplants are unique because the liver is the only organ in
the body that can regenerate itself. Surgeons can transplant 50 - 60
percent of a donor liver and it will grow to 70 percent of its size
within two weeks.

One in 10 Americans has been affected by liver disease. In 2009,
6,320 liver transplants were performed in the United States, 190 of
those in Michigan. Nationwide about 16,000 Americans are waiting for
a liver transplant. That total includes 340 Michigan residents.

Full article here:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/199705.php