Woman Gets First-Ever Combined Heart Pump and Pig Kidney Transplant [Video]

In a first for medicine, surgeons at NYU Langone Health perform combination surgery to implant a mechanical heart pump, called an LVAD, and transplant a genetically engineered pig kidney in a 54-year-old woman. Before the procedures, the patient faced heart failure and end-stage kidney disease. The FDA approved the pig-to-human organ transplant, called xenotransplantation, through its “compassionate use” program. Dr. Robert Montgomery, chair of the Department of Surgery and director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, explains the surgeries.

0:00 Heart Failure and Kidney Disease
0:20 Pig Kidney Xenotransplant
0:44 Good News from the FDA
1:05 A Combination Procedure
1:43 Paving the Way for Future Patients

Find out how the NYU Langone Transplant Institute is making a difference in people’s lives: https://nyulangone.org/locations/nyu-langone-transplant-institute

Read more about our LVAD Program: https://nyulangone.org/care-services/lvad-program
Learn about Dr. Robert Montgomery: https://nyulangone.org/doctors/1467404137/robert-montgomery