Department of Cardiac Surgery Archive — Page 3 of 7

Transplant patient Connie Rankin was cleared to return home to Memphis just in time for the holidays. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
December 14, 2023

VUMC performs its first combined lung and liver transplant

Connie Rankin of Memphis, Tennessee, received Vanderbilt’s first combined lung and liver transplant, which involved dozens of specialists, including transplant teams for both organs.

Nicole Hunter was the first patient to receive the novel transplant. (photo by Erin O. Smith)
September 27, 2023

VUMC performs novel reoperative lung and kidney transplant

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has performed its first combined reoperative lung and kidney transplant.

3D medical illustration of a translucent human torso showing the liver highlighted in bright orange and red beneath the rib cage.
April 13, 2023

Process rehabilitates donor livers for transplantation

Vanderbilt research demonstrated that injured human donor livers declined for transplant can be recovered by cross-circulation between the human liver and a xenogeneic host, or animal platform.

Medical illustration showing the lungs, branching airways, windpipe, and heart in the center of the chest.
April 6, 2023

System repairs donor lungs for transplantation

A Vanderbilt team has discovered that donor lungs rejected for transplant can be repaired using cross-circulation with a xenogeneic host.

Vanderbilt heart patient Tony Raia, with his wife, Jenn, and daughter, Gabriella, 6, at their home in Franklin, Tennessee.
March 16, 2023

Multispecialty expertise key to heart patient’s recovery

Vanderbilt’s multispecialty expertise helped a seemingly healthy 54-year-old man who needed major heart procedures get back to the gym and live a healthy life.

Medical staff in surgical gowns and masks perform a kidney transplant in an operating room; one surgeon examines the kidney over a sterile basin while others assist.
February 23, 2023

2022 another strong year for Vanderbilt Transplant Center