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SAVING LIVES
500 LIVER TRANSPLANTS AND COUNTING
THE L I VER TRANSPLANT
program at the Texas
Transplant Institute (TTI) on the campus of Methodist
Specialty and Transplant Hospital (a campus of Methodist
Hospital), recently hit a milestone by performing its
500th liver transplant.
The liver disease program at TTI is recognized nation-
ally for its successful outcomes as is evidenced by this
amazing achievement. The expertise of the liver disease
and transplant team makes it possible to offer a level of
service that is on par with the top programs in the coun-
try for transplantation, hepatology and liver disease care.
The program is led by a group of physicians who have
more than 60 years of combined expertise in all aspects
of liver disease management and transplant procedures.
With over 500 liver transplants performed over the
past
14
years, the liver transplant program is continu-
ally ranked in the top
5
percent in the nation in patient
survival rates.
“We have transplanted more medically urgent
patients than any other program in Texas,” says
Preston Foster, MD,
medical director for the liver trans-
plant program.
A liver transplant is performed in cases of end-stage
liver disease (ESLD) or liver failure. Diseases and con-
ditions resulting in end-stage liver disease for which
transplantation may be indicated include primary biliary
cirrhosis, sclerosing cholangitis, liver cancer, and alcohol
or drug abuse. Hepatitis B and C viruses can also develop
into liver failure, possibly requiring a transplant. However,
a transplant does not cure hepatitis. Early diagnosis and
disease management can help patients decrease their risk
of hospitalization.
The goal of the Liver Transplant Program is to exhaust
all medical therapies before resorting to a liver transplant,
which is reserved as a final life-saving option. The Liver
Failure Clinic at the Texas Transplant Institute offers
comprehensive treatment programs for liver failure man-
agement. Our hepatologist has extensive experience with
the latest clinical treatments, including radio frequency
ablation and chemoebolization, as well as access to new
clinical research and treatment protocols. In addition, the
Liver Failure Clinic offers ongoing educational sessions
for patients and their families; and licensed nurses, dieti-
tians, social workers, and chemical dependency counsel-
ors provide information and answer questions regarding
physical, psychological, and social issues.
END YOUR
WAIT
The nation’s No. 1 live donor
kidney transplant program is in
San Antonio
THE LIVE DONOR
kidney program at Methodist Specialty
and Transplant Hospital, a campus of Methodist Hospital,
is ranked No. 1 for most live donor transplants performed
since 2009. We are the national leader in paired kid-
ney donation, in which even incompatible donors and
recipient pairs are matched with other incompatible
pairs. To date, over 250 patients have benefited from
this program—more than any other program in the U.S.
The incompatible living kidney donor exchange
program has achieved many accomplishments such as
being the first transplant center in Texas to perform
simultaneous two-way and three-way paired kidney
exchange transplants. In 2010, our team performed the
world’s largest paired kidney exchange over a three-day
period, at a single hospital, which grew to include 23
recipients and donors.
The decision to donate a kidney is a serious one for
the donor and the recipient. The key is to educate both
parties about organ donation and everything that is
BROTHER RECEIVES GIFT
OF LIFE WHEN SISTER
DONATES KIDNEY:
In
December 2011, Juan
Montemayor of Laredo,
Texas, received the
best gift ever—his
sister, Sylvia Segovia,
let him know she had
been tested and was a
perfect match and would
be donating one of her
kidneys. On June 12,
2012, Montemayor re-
ceived his life-saving gift
from his “baby sister,”
and has been living life
to the fullest ever since.
Segovia recounts, “Our
mother had a kidney re-
moved when she was five
months’ pregnant with
me due to kidney dis-
ease, and she lived over
50 years with just one,
so I told Juan it would be
a piece of cake and that
we could also do it.”
“There’s nothing more
important than giving
life to somebody, help-
ing one another—I can’t
think of any other reason
than that,” explains
Montemayor. In 2015,
Methodist Specialty
and Transplant Hospital
performed the highest
number of live donor
kidney transplants in
Texas and the U.S.
For more information,
contact the Living Donor
Kidney Program at
Methodist Specialty and
Transplant Hospital at
210-575-4483
or toll-free
at
800-888-0402
.
involved with this big decision. The donor evaluation
consists of lab work, diagnostic imaging and a psychoso-
cial evaluation. It is recommended that the testing take
place at Texas Transplant Institute. If the donor resides
outside of the San Antonio area, most of the testing can
be done at one of our outreach clinics or a local hospital.
The donor will be required to visit our transplant center
at least once prior to surgery.
Typically, donors return to normal activities within
two to six weeks. The entire cost of the evaluation,
operation and follow-up care related to the surgery is
usually paid by the recipient’s health insurance benefits.
If you choose to become a living donor, it can be a
very rewarding experience. You are giving the gift of
life to someone you care about. The Texas Transplant
Institute has developed new opportunities for kidney
patients who typically had to wait a long time for a
kidney or who were told that finding a match would
be impossible.
To find out more about our live donor kidney trans-
plant program either as a life-saving potential donor or
as a kidney patient, please call
210-575-8425
.
M e t h o d i s t H e a l t h c a r e
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