Andrew at NMH 2024
The search for a second opinion
As Wagner’s condition worsened, his wife, Nicole Wagner, sprang into action. In the spring of 2024, she reached out to transplant centers across the country hoping that someone would agree to a second transplant. However, because Wagner had not been cancer-free for three to five years, they were told repeatedly that a retransplant wasn’t an option.
While searching for answers online, Wagner’s wife came across the story of Gary Gibbon, MD – a California physician who traveled to Northwestern Medicine to receive the first double-lung and liver transplant for advanced lung cancer in the U.S.
Since Dr. Gibbon had been transplanted with active lung cancer, the Wagners figured the transplant team at Northwestern Medicine might be willing to take on Wagner’s case. In October 2024, the couple traveled to Chicago to get Wagner evaluated for a second liver transplant at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. There, they received the ‘yes’ they had been searching for.
“Andrew was really on the brink when he first got to Chicago. He likely had months to live,” said Northwestern Medicine hepatologist Andres Duarte-Rojo, MD. “After presenting his case to our multidisciplinary selection committee, we determined that even with immunosuppression, the risk of his lung cancer relapsing was very low. Though we knew the surgery would be difficult, as retransplants tend to be, we were excited to offer him this critical chance for survival.”
On Dec. 16, 2024, surgeons at Northwestern Medicine began the complex process of retransplanting Wagner’s liver. Previous surgeries left him with a significant amount of scar tissue, making his old liver difficult to remove. To minimize blood loss during the extraction, surgeons placed Wagner on bypass to ensure he’d have adequate blood flow to his heart. While surgeons removed his old liver, his new liver was kept functioning outside the body in a device called “liver in a box,” which pumps warm, oxygenated blood through the organ to keep it healthy.
“Having access to this wide range of techniques allowed us to navigate Andrew’s transplant effectively,” said Northwestern Medicine transplant surgeon Zachary Dietch, MD. “It was an interesting blend of old and new – traditional methods like bypass used alongside the latest advancements in transplant such as ‘liver in a box.’”
‘;
Source: news.nm.org
