Tampa doctors perform world's first successful bloodless heart-liver transplant

The world’s first successful bloodless heart-liver transplant performed in Tampa

Tampa General Hospital and USF Health achieve a breakthrough milestone in bloodless transplant care.

Tampa, Fla. - Tampa General Hospital and University of South Florida Health made history in the medical world by performing the world's first successful bloodless heart-liver transplant.

The patient, Cesar Ale, suffered from Advanced Coronary Artery Disease and Advanced Fatty Liver Disease for five years. He was hospitalized for 15 months in a row while on the transplant list. Ale couldn’t receive blood transfusions due to his religious beliefs.

What we know:

Ale’s surgeons had to find another way to save his life. Dr. Kiran Dhanireddy, the liver transplantation surgeon, explained, "We had collaboration with anesthesia because there are certain maneuvers by anesthesiologists that are necessary and critical to avoid the loss of blood as well as the perfusion team involved in the bypass during the heart transplant. It really amounts to both a surgical feat, and an anesthetic feat, and a medical feat of complexity to allow us to perform this."

Photo courtesy: TGH

The surgery lasted about eight hours and the patient had a smooth recovery. Ale was able to go home three weeks after his surgery.

During his sickness, Ale couldn’t walk distances of more than 15 feet without experiencing severe chest pain. He sought medical help across the country, traveling from the Midwest to the West Coast.  No facility would put him on their transplant list due to his high risk factors. But TGH gave him a chance, and now he can resume his regular life.

Ale is very thankful to his donors and wants to thank their families in person one day.

The surgeons said they had no idea that they were the first to accomplish this type of surgery. They only had what was best for Ale in mind.

The pioneering procedure makes history in transplant medicine and shows cutting-edge advancements in surgical techniques. It will ultimately bring new hope for future transplant patients. 

Dr. Gundars Katlaps performed the heart transplant. He is the Surgical Director of the TGH Lung Transplant Program and Associate Professor of Surgery at USF Health's Morsani College of Medicine.