Heart/Kidney/Pancreas Transplant Cures

Holding an MBA along with his MD Magna Cum Laude AOA, Dr. J. A. (John) Macoviak is a retired heart transplant surgeon who practiced for 2 decades beginning in Washington DC ending at Mayo Clinic, disabled by Grave's Disease.. The co-author of several medical papers, he has researched a range of heart-related conditions and focuses these days on becoming a medical blogger and author. John Macoviak, MD, was also the first surgeon to complete a heart transplant along with Hans Sollinger MD and Jimmy Light MD who together performed the simultaneous pancreas transplant, the first combine heart pancreas transplant in 1988. This controversial compassionate pioneering surgery ultimately paved the way for the more complex heart/kidney/pancreas transplants. There is no reason in 2021 why electively combing these two organs in a simultaneous transplant surgery remains controversial as immunosuppression has improved. We are all aware of the risks, but science is about reducing risks going forward. Pioneers are usually strong targets for politics. Then one day things get better.

For example in 2005, one such procedure changed the life of Jim Stavis, a 52-year-oldCalifornia resident who had been battling diabetes since the age of 17. For 35 years, the condition controlled his life. It dictated what he ate and put him at risk for a lifetime of possible kidney disease, amputations, and even blindness.

Despite this, he stayed positive and managed his health best he could to avoid diabetes-related complications. Then, he was presented with the option to get a heart/pancreas/kidney transplant at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Since 1992, only eight patients in the United States have received this type of simultaneous transplant according to reports from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), so Mr. Stavis had a rare opportunity in front of him.

The procedure was done with a heart/kidney transplant first, followed by the pancreas transplant. Following the surgery, Mr. Stavis recovered well and was essentially cured of his diabetes. By the holidays in 2006, he was eating normal food with the rest of his family and was capable of skipping the common inconveniences of managing diabetes, like using an insulin pump.

Health of Europe’s First Heart-Kidney

A Magna Cum Laude, Junior Year AOA graduate and freshman Class '73 President of the Georgetown University School of Medicine is a holder of an MBA from the University of California at Irvine, J.A. (John) Macoviak, MD trained for 3 years by Norman E Shumway MD PhD, Ed Stinson MD, Phil Oyer MD and John C. Baldwin MD at Stanford to do heart transplants in 1987 he founded the Washington Regional Transplant consortium, where he did the first 30 heart transplants in Washington DC. He worked under Bob Wallace MD, Paul Corso MD and Jorge Garcia MD then retired due to Graves Disease at Mayo Clinic 2 decades later where he worked with Chris C.G. MacGregor MD and Hartzel Schaff MD.. All these are great technical highly respected surgeons. In addition to this, he was on the faculty at Harvard medical school with Larry H. Cohen MD. Throughout his career, John Macoviak, MD, has made significant progress in the medical field, such as completing the first heart/pancreas transplant procedure in 1988, the pancreas surgery was done by Hans Sollinger MD and Jimmy Light MD, the heart component was successful but the pancreas did not function from a potential multitude of unknown immunological reasons. As always pioneers are politically controversial.

On February 20, 1990, Europe’s first heart-kidney-pancreas transplant was performed. Done on a 42-year-old male who suffered from Type 1 diabetes, the procedure was performed on an urgent basis after the patient went into congestive heart failure (CHF) due to diabetic coronary issues. At the same time, the patient was experiencing worsening renal insufficiency (RI).

Shortly after the procedure, all three organs began functioning normally. The patient no longer needed insulin therapy, and he returned to his work roughly six months after the procedure.

However, it was the long-term positive effects that were more significant. After 11 years, the patient was still doing well and was actively involved in both social and recreational activities after retiring from work two years before. Both his renal and cardiac functions were strong, but he did experience some deterioration of his glucose tolerance.