It's not unusual for the University of Mississippi Medical Center's abdominal transplant team to do a couple of surgeries in a 24-hour period. But 11 over a long weekend, on top of trauma cases from the ED and other emergency surgeries vying for the Medical Center's 15 operating rooms? Since the abdominal transplant program for liver and pancreas was rejuvenated in 2013, “hands down, that's the busiest run we have had,” said Dr. Mark Earl, associate professor of transplant surgery, who was on call the weekend of Oct. 27-30. The kidney transplant program was ramped up in 2011. Earl and Dr. James Wynn, professor of transplant surgery, together handled the transplanting of 10 kidneys and one liver. All told, the transplant team performed 16 transplants over a seven-day period ending Oct. 30, Earl said. “It's not uncommon to have days where we are very busy, but a seven-day period where we're doing multiple organs a day is very unusual,” he said. “This would be unusual for the biggest programs in the country.” With several weeks to go, 2016 already is a record year in each of kidney, liver and heart transplant. “Our team at University Transplant has risen to that challenge many times, and this particular four-day stretch is a prime example,” Dr. Christopher Anderson, professor and chair of the Department of Surgery, said of the Oct. 27-30 run. |