Steve Jobs, who has been on medical leave from Apple Inc. since January to treat an undisclosed medical condition, received a controversial liver transplant in Tennessee about two months ago. The chief executive has been recovering well and is expected to return to work on schedule later this month, though he may work part-time initially. WUSTL pancreatic and gastrointestinal surgery professor William Hawkins and surgery professor William Chapman both comment.

References:

1. June 20, 2009 — Jobs Had Liver Transplant in the The Wall Street Journal

Advanced donor age, per se, does not adversely affect the transplant recipient or the survival of the organ after liver transplantation, according to a report in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. WUSTL surgery professor William Chapman and colleagues found there was no significant difference in the number of second transplants performed or signs that another transplant was going to be needed between patients who received organs from younger and older donors.

References:

1. Dec. 30, 2008 — Liver transplants from elderly donors are safe in the Reuters Health

and 6 others.

Liver transplant patients who receive an organ from a donor age 60 or older do just as well as patients getting a liver from a younger donor, U.S. researchers said. A WUSTL medical school team, led by surgeon William Chapman, analyzed data and said the results should inspire some confidence about donated livers from older donors.

References:

1. July 21, 2008 — Livers from older donors work well in transplants in the Reuters

and 13 others.

Front page story -- A quiet revolution in the world of lung transplants is saving the lives of people who, just two years ago, would have died on the waiting list. Changes include who gets a lung transplant first -- people who would soon die without a transplant, but who had a good chance of surviving after one.
Another major change is that more lungs from cadavers have become available.
WUSTL transplant surgeon Alexander Patterson comments. WUSTL has one of the country's largest lung transplant programs.

References:

1. Sept. 24, 2006 — Lung Patients See a New Era of Transplants in the The New York Times

As transplant lists grow longer, more Americans are traveling to China for organs. The trend alarms ethicists and U.S. doctors concerned about the human rights of donors and the health and safety of recipients.
Includes comments by Jeffrey Crippin, president of the American Society of Transplantation and medical director of WUSTL's liver transplant program, and Ira Kodner, a colorectal surgeon and director of the WUSTL's Center for the Study of Ethics and Human Values.

References:

1. Aug. 24, 2006 — Organ trade in China raises alarm over human rights in the Kansas City Star

and 16 others.

WUSTL researcher Shalini Shenoy talks about a new drug treatment that helps prevent transplant rejection and reduces the toxic effects of radiation and chemo. (Bacon's text)

References:

1. June 8, 2005 — New Drug Helps Prevent Transplant Rejection in the WJBF-TV Augusta, GA

and 4 others.

Amy Hancock had three weeks to figure out what her first words would be. Hancock, who lost her voice to laryngeal cancer five and a half years ago, had time to think about it after undergoing an innovative larynx restoration surgery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital on May 23. On June 16 her surgeon, Washington University otolaryngologist Randal Paniello removed a tube from her throat, allowing her to speak for the first time post-op. Her first words: "Thank you Dr. Paniello."
"I expect her voice will get better," says Paniello. "We're still sort of working out some of the kinks in the system." Paniello is the first to perform the innovative surgery in the United States. "The goal is to recreate an air passageway from the back of the windpipe into the front of the swallowing passage." Typically, doctors create that passageway with a plastic prosthetic that allows air to flow and generate vibrations and speech.

References:

1. March 15, 2004 — Voice restoration surgery is a success in the KITV-TV Honolulu, HI

and 19 others.