Surgeons at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles have made medical history by performing the world’s first successful human bladder transplant, marking a groundbreaking advancement for patients with severe bladder conditions.
The pioneering procedure was carried out on May 4 and involved Oscar Larrainzar, a 41-year-old father of four, who had previously lost a significant portion of his bladder due to cancer. Larrainzar later underwent dialysis for seven years after also losing both kidneys to cancer and end-stage kidney disease.
In the eight-hour operation, doctors transplanted both a kidney and a bladder from a single organ donor. The kidney was implanted first, followed by the bladder. Surgeons then used a specialized technique they had developed to connect the kidney to the new bladder.
“The kidney immediately began producing a large volume of urine, and the patient’s kidney function improved right away,” said Dr. Nima Nassiri, one of the lead surgeons on the case. “There was no need for dialysis post-surgery, and urine drained properly into the transplanted bladder.”
According to UCLA’s statement released Sunday, this dual-organ transplant offers new hope to patients who have previously had limited options for bladder reconstruction.
Until now, patients requiring bladder reconstruction were often fitted with a stoma bag or had artificial bladders created from intestinal tissue — methods that come with significant short- and long-term health risks.
Dr. Nassiri, along with Dr. Inderbir Gill, emphasized the immense technical challenge of performing a full bladder transplant due to the pelvis’s intricate vascular system. “This first attempt has been over four years in the making,” Nassiri noted.
With this successful procedure, UCLA’s medical team has opened the door to safer, more effective treatments for individuals suffering from complex urological and renal conditions.
