Editor's Note Surgeons at Northwestern Medicine have performed the first U.S. case of resection and partial liver transplantation with delayed total hepatectomy (RAPID) to treat metastatic colorectal cancer, according to a March 18 article in Healio. The procedure, which allows a transplanted liver segment to grow before fully replacing a…
Editor's Note A new partnership between OrganOx and ProCure On-Demand aims to increase the number of viable donor livers for transplantation by combining advanced perfusion technology with expert recovery services, Fierce Healthcare reported March 17. The collaboration seeks to reduce the number of discarded organs and improve transplant success rates…
Editor's Note The widespread adoption of GLP-1 weight-loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy could put revenue at risk across multiple service lines, according to a March 11 article in Becker’s Hospital Review. As a result, hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) face critical questions about how to adapt. The article…
Editor's Note An Australian man lived for 100 days with an artificial titanium heart, the longest duration recorded for a patient using the device, according to a March 12 report from CNN. The breakthrough marks a significant step toward using total artificial hearts as a long-term solution for patients with…
Editor’s Note Towana Looney, a 53-year-old Alabama woman, has become the longest-living recipient of a pig organ transplant, thriving 61 days after receiving a gene-edited pig kidney. The Associated Press (AP) reported the news January 25. As detailed in the article, her recovery offers critical insights into the development of…
Takeaways • Requirements for improvement and condition level deficiency findings have been trending up in recent The Joint Commission surveys. • The scoring trends and OR hot spots focus on infection control, medication management, national patient safety goals, post-surgical electronic health record tracers, and transplant (tissue) safety. • Federal regulations,…
Editor's Note A 53-year-old woman with end-stage kidney failure became the first living person to receive a genetically modified pig kidney in a milestone surgery at NYU Langone Health, NPR reported December 17. Although the experimental procedure marks significant progress toward addressing organ shortages, it also drew commentary on ongoing…
Editor's Note The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized a new rule establishing the Increasing Organ Transplant Access Model, a 6-year, mandatory initiative to enhance access to kidney transplants, improve care quality, and reduce disparities. Managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the program…
Editor's Note The Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) is launching a national effort to reduce discard rates of donated organs, according to an October 23 announcement from the University of Michigan. OPTN oversees organ distribution for transplant procedures in the US. According to the report, the organization aims to…
Editor's Note An observational study of kidney transplant patients with HIV shows that organs from donors with HIV appeared to be noninferior to those from donors without. Published October 16 in the New England Journal of Medicine, the observational study analyzed 198 kidney transplants conducted at 26 US centers…