THE POWER OF ONE: BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER FOR THE PATIENT
A LETTER FROM DR. KLINTMALM TO FRIENDS & COLLEAGUES
Reflecting on the past year and the notable
32-year history of the Baylor Annette C. and Harold
C. Simmons Transplant Institute, one constant
emerged as the driving force behind all that we
have done — the power of one. Our dedication
to collaboration and innovation has benefited the one
who is at the center of all that we do — the patient.
I learned the value of teamwork from my mentor,
Dr. Thomas Starzl, the “father of transplantation”
and my “second father,” who recently passed away.
I became the recipient of his life-long commitment
to learning and sharing when I trained with him
in Denver and then in Pittsburgh in 1979–1981.
He was instrumental in starting the transplant
program at Baylor University Medical Center at
Dallas that enabled me to perform the first liver
transplant in North Texas in 1984. Since that
time, the Baylor Dallas transplant program has
grown to be one of the largest in the nation and
the world and a true visionary – performing some
of the region’s and nation’s firsts.
How did our dedication to collaboration and
innovation manifest itself in 2016?
• The team of surgeons on the medical staff at
Baylor Dallas and Baylor Scott & White
All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth
performed our 4,000th liver transplant,
a remarkable milestone.
• A courageous North Texan became the first area
resident to receive an artificial heart as a bridge to
heart transplant.
• We continued our journey as pioneers in
transplantation by performing five uterine
transplants in 2016, joining a handful of other
centers around the world that are developing
this new technique to enable women who
were previously unable to experience the joy of
pregnancy and childbirth.
• Our robust research program sponsored
numerous clinical trials and studies that will
shape the future of transplant medicine.
With our continuing commitment to recruiting
and retaining the top transplant talent in the
world, the Baylor Annette C. and Harold C.
Simmons Transplant Institute looks forward
to pushing the limits to transform transplant
medicine for our current and future patients.
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