Organ Transplantation

how do you mean exactly? what are the transplants? that determines procedure (incision location, internal muscle/organ movement, etc)

depending on the anesthesia used for the procedure you're generally given a sedative before going to the OR, to calm you. historically, valium or ativan have been popular among doctors. ativan has a desirable side effect of being an amnesic: while it's busy calming you down it's also slightly inhibiting memory formation, so you won't remember pre-op pain or stress as clearly.

anesthesia itself can be complex, different mixes can be used as a general anesthetic (knocks you out), and there are a lot of options for local anesthesia as well. some procedures - rarely a transplant, but it's not unheard of - a surgeon will set up a field block (a specific area completely numbed) in cases where it's dangerous to use a general, or when it's undesirable due to patient specifics. recovery time from a treatment using a local is speedier, and less risky. but as i said, it's rare for transplants.

details?

I'm going to further develop a character who can regenerate his organs and tissue, and hence, is rotating them out like crops to give them out on a reality who. (See "Love in Standard Definition" in the workshop for details).

That being said, I want information on organ transplants, such as, which ones can be done with a live donor (even one who can regenerate and heal faster). I'm interested in the long term toll on him as well - even though it's a fantasy type thing going on, he can "regrow" and heal in a week or two, but over the years, it begins to slow as his "gift" slows down and will eventually subside.

So I would just LOVE a wealth of any transplant information - cool transplants that people haven't heard of, little tricks, organ stealing, and I'll cull the rest out. I've ordered some books . . . I will say that the previous post was very insightful and helpful for my notes.

Thanks!

Live donors can give away any essential organ that they have two of, obviously - lung, kidney, eye - and nonessential bits like an odd finger or toe, so long as doing so won't kill them and they've been type matched. The doc has to approve of the risks inherent, and it's important to note that a good deal of organ donations will eat into the lifespan of the donor to various degrees. No ethical doctor would take an organ from a live donor that would leave them dead, so for live donation, it's a little limited.

I've read of half-liver transplants, which are controversial are rare; probably fifty or so have been performed worldwide. It doesn't work well if the recipient has a failed liver, but if it's on it's way to failing a half-liver donation can help. Basically the donor gives half their liver, and the recipient keeps their failing liver assuming there's no potential for infection from one to the other - this is more for cirrhosis or livers affected by degenerative diseases. The new half liver is implanted and the patient is given anti-rejection drugs. This takes a lot of stress off the recipients original kidney, sometimes allowing it to regenerate and heal itself. If and when that happens, the anti-rejection drugs are stopped and the new half-liver atrophies and withers away.

That procedure only occurs in cases where the recipient's liver has a good chance of recovering and regenerating - like I said, it's a rare and controversial procedure, and the majority in the medical community only do full liver transplants, which require a fresh cadaver as a donor.

There's a BRILLIANT 52 minute indie documentary available for free webstreaming here that deals with Iran, the only place in the world where organ transplants are partially government subsidized and where donors can sell their kidneys FOR PROFIT. The surgeons play fast and loose, and post-op care is questionable for patients. One after another, a fresh pair of patients wheeled into the OR just as the last is stitched up. Fascinating doc.

A lot of organs you can get to in various ways. A kidney or liver, for instance, has been traditionally removed from the side/back of a patient. Due to all of the muscle that needs to be manipulated, cut, re-joined, the healing time on this is substantial. The alternative is to go in through the abdominopelvic cavity - your lower gut, basically, and extract that way. There's a bit more manipulation as far as getting organs clear and out of the way, but healing and recovery is much faster. It does result in a more unsightly belly scar.

More each day, surgery is taking advantage of orthoscopic tools where possible - three or four small incisions and cameras and tools inserted into the body, where the surgery is performed. An emphasis on the least invasive proceedure possible has always been big, and we're getting to where it's more and more possible. Creativity in surgical techniques is reaching new heights; Recently a patient suffering appendicitis had his appendix removed through his mouth. A camera and tool were fed down his throat, a small incision made in his stomach, which gave the surgeons access to his abdominal cavity, and appendix. They tied it off, encapsulated it (and all the septic goodness within), snipped, cauterized to close off the site of removal, and fished it back up his throat. The stomach and tongue are two of the fastest regenerating organs, so the tiny cut to his stomach was stitched and healed in no time, and because it was such a simple operation, the patient was able to be awake for it.

I don't know how realistic you need or want things to be, seeing as you can write it almost any way you like as you define your character's 'gift.' If you have any specific medical questions I'd be happy to help as I can - I became very ill and never got to finish medical school, but medicine fascinates me so I'm constantly reading medical tomes and journals, research .pdf's being published and such.

As for your story, I don't have a workshop membership. I'll PM you my email address incase there's anything specific you'd like me to see.