Switching Organ Types Across Consecutive Transplant Surgeries Linked to Elevated Mortality

Summary: Imagine trying to play a professional football game and a professional baseball game on the exact same day. You would probably be exhausted and make some mistakes. A new study shows that transplant surgeons face a similar problem.

When surgeons perform back-to-back transplants on different types of organs (like a kidney and then a liver), the risk of the patient dying within a year goes up. If these different surgeries happen on the exact same day, the patient death rate jumps from 4.5% to 7.2%.

The good news is that rest fixes the problem. If the surgeon gets just one night to sleep between the different surgeries, the risk drops significantly. If they have two days between the surgeries, the extra risk completely disappears. Hospitals can help protect patients by scheduling surgeries better and making sure doctors get enough time to rest between different types of operations.

For more details, see rssapp-gastroenterologyadvisor-com at gastroenterologyadvisor.com/news/switching-organ-types-across-consecutive-transplant-surgeries-linked-to-elevated-mortality/ (opens in new tab)