The Catalyst Issue 16 | April 2013 | Page 13

Lung transplant patient Tracy Barnett (seated) is surrounded by his team of caregivers: (from left) Dr. Basar Sareyyupoglu, Dr. Kenton Zehr, Dr. Juan Sanchez, and Dr. Heath White. Read about Mr. Barnett’s story on page 14. rgan transplantation is a miracle of modern medicine. It can be a patient’s last hope for life. When kidney transplants were first performed at Scott & White in 1997, it was a pivotal moment in our patient care, increasing the quality of life for hundreds of patients. Since then, we’ve performed more than 500 solid organ transplants, including kidney, heart, lung and pancreas.* Scott & White Healthcare has made an enormous investment in the clinical expertise and infrastructure to expand its transplantation programs, much to the relief of grateful patients and families. Basar Sareyyupoglu, MD, director of Thoracic Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support at Scott & White Healthcare, says, “By providing transplant services in Central Texas, Scott & White spares local patients the added worry of travel to Austin, Dallas, or Houston.” This is good news for patients on organ waiting lists, because their care requires multiple appointments with specialists. These include intensive evaluation and tests prior to surgery. They can also mean the use of technology, such as ventricular assist devices for heart failure patients, and dialysis treatment for diabetic patients. Long-term follow-up care, such as antirejection medication management and monitoring by a patient’s clinician team, is essential as well. Candidates for organ transplantation include diabetics with kidney failure and cardiac patients with coronary artery disease or viral infections that may O trigger heart failure. Emphysematous lung diseases and interstitial lung fibrosis are the main conditions for patients evaluated for lung transplantation. Also, cystic fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension are diseases that cripple patients’ lungs. Scott & White solid organ transplantation totals Heart 26 Kidney 457 Kidney-pancreas 37 A big year for “firsts” Lung 3 In September 2012, Dr. Sareyyupoglu and Kenton Zehr, MD, director of Scott & White Healthcare’s Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, performed the hospital’s first lung transplant (see next page), and two more patients have since undergone double lung transplantation. In December of the same year, two surgical teams led by Dr. Zehr and Gregory Jaffers, MD, director of the Division of Transplant Surgery, joined forces to perform Scott & White’s first combined heart and kid