Doctors at UCLA and USC have performed the world’s first successful human bladder transplant, giving 40-something father Oscar Larrainzar a new bladder and kidney during an eight-hour surgery on May 4.
The landmark procedure followed a four-year collaboration between the schools and is part of an ongoing UCLA clinical trial.
Larrainzar, who had been on dialysis for seven years, is reportedly doing well with fully functioning donor organs and no need for post-op dialysis. See photos here. Surgeons say the breakthrough could offer new hope to patients with severe bladder dysfunction.
