Rare 12-Hour Simultaneous Heart And Liver Transplant At Children’s Healthcare Of Atlanta Restores Teen

Teen Undergoes Rare Double heart And liver transplant At children‘s Healthcare Of Atlanta

USA: A 17-year-old patient who spent his life battling a congenital heart defect has undergone a rare double-organ transplant at children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Arthur M. Blank Hospital, marking the center’s first simultaneous heart-and-liver procedure. The operation, completed after a donor became available in early January, lasted roughly 12 hours and brought together two large surgical teams to replace both the heart and the liver in a single coordinated effort.

Born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, the teen endured multiple corrective surgeries throughout childhood. During a routine catheterization at the hospital in November 2025, clinicians discovered he had progressed to stage 3 heart failure and that his liver function had also deteriorated to the point that both organs would need replacement. The family, already familiar with years of interventions, confronted the new diagnosis while preparing for the high-risk, uncommon operation.

Surgical teams at Arthur M. Blank Hospital performed the transplants simultaneously, keeping the heart attached to the liver during portions of the procedure so both organs could be managed together. According to the surgical lead, this coordinated method requires synchronized work by cardiothoracic and transplant specialists and is one reason the operation is so rare—performed only about 50 times worldwide over the past three decades. The team reported the operation proceeded as planned and the recipient began postoperative recovery under intensive monitoring.

After two weeks in the hospital, the teenager returned home to Aiken to continue rehabilitation. Medical staff advised that adherence to daily immunosuppressive medication will be critical to long-term graft survival, and with consistent treatment the new organs are expected to function for many years. Family members described relief and gratitude for the multidisciplinary care that made the complex transplant possible and are focusing now on recovery and the long road of follow-up care ahead.

Video originally published on 2026-03-11 17:15:18