Liver transplant field’s most prominent book honors SA program

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Halff

San Antonio (Dec. 16, 2003) – Since 2000, more than 400 individuals with severe liver disease have received life-enhancing liver transplants performed by faculty surgeons of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSC). The program is offered in conjunction with the outstanding clinical staff and facilities of the University Health System.

Nearly 90 percent of patients survive one year after the technically challenging surgeries, a success rate substantially higher than the national average. The Health Science Center-UHS liver transplant program was ranked ninth in volume among 118 active centers in 2002. The surgeons, anesthesiologists, perfusionists, nurses and other team members performed 126 liver transplants during 2002, including split-liver transplants and living-donor-related liver transplants. This year, for the fourth straight year, the team has performed more than 100 liver transplants.

For these reasons and because of the reputation of the faculty, Terasaki’s Clinical Transplantation 2003, the premier transplant book of its type, recognized the program this fall. Terasaki’s invited program director Glenn A. Halff, M.D., professor and interim chairman of the department of surgery at the UTHSC, to write an invited chapter. Typically only two to three prominent international liver transplant centers are featured each year.

“Our one-year survival rate of 88 percent is good by national standards, especially considering the relatively ill population of liver failure patients we have been willing to transplant,” Dr. Halff said. “We are proud of this international recognition for our liver transplant team.”



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