Transplantologist

The transplantologist is a representative of a relatively young medical field.

The founder of the science of transplantology was Dr. VP Demikhov, who was the first in the world to perform a donor heart transplant in a dog, it was in 1951. Only 16 years after the successful experiment, in 1967, the South African successor Demikhov, surgeon Christian Bernard carried out a similar operation on the human body.

To date, the science of organ transplantation is considered one of the most modern and promising, which can allow in the future to solve many problems associated with the treatment of severe pathologies.

Who is a transplantologist?

The transplantologist is a medical specialist in bio-physiology who studies the tasks of transplanting organs and individual tissues, develops methods for their long-term preservation, is interested in the creation and use of artificial organs (for example, artificial heart or kidneys).

The doctor, who is a specialist in this field, can work in transplant centers in the largest medical institutions of the country. In cooperation with a physician-immunologist, he combines the most suitable pairs for implantation:

• the most optimal donor, which sacrifices an organ or tissue as a transplant;
• suitable recipient (the organism to be transplanted).

The transplant doctor must create all the necessary conditions for transplanting foreign tissue, then perform the operation, monitor and monitor the patient in the postoperative period. In addition, such a doctor can advise patients with an already transplanted donor or established artificial organ. He is also responsible for receiving patients on transplantation.

When should I go to the transplantologist?

The doctor-transplantologist is consulted if it is necessary to transplant any tissue structure or replace the organ. In addition to the direct question of transplantation, the doctor also solves other related problems:

• organization of surgical care and transplant service;
• the provision of special medical assistance to patients of a surgical profile (scheduled, emergency or urgent);
• conducting necessary methods of examination, diagnosis and therapy;
• monitoring of adverse manifestations of prescribed medications;
• referral to inpatient treatment, its organization;
• the definition of the scheme and protocol for the treatment of patients, the preparation for an operative intervention;
• carrying out compatibility tests;
• determination of the method of anesthesia;
• development of tactics for postoperative management of the patient, prevention and prevention of negative consequences;
• Cooperation with other medical specialties and services.

What tests should I take when I go to the transplantologist?

As a rule, the transplantologist is consulted and referrals from other medical specialists: a surgeon, an emergency doctor, an oncologist, etc. Such directions are usually accompanied by the results of studies, analyzes, trials that justify the alleged operative intervention. In addition, there is no need to conduct any tests if they have not been prescribed by a doctor in advance.

When going to a reception or consultation with a transplantologist, take with you all the documentation that you have available that concerns a disease that is troubling you. If such documents are with the attending physician, then warn him in advance that you want to visit a transplant surgeon. In this case, the specialists will exchange the necessary documents in advance.

Special additional preparation for a doctor is not required.

What diagnostic methods does the transplant use?

Before the transplant operation, it is very important to perform a full and comprehensive diagnosis of the organism - this will allow to identify the pathology at an early stage of development and eliminate it before the intervention.

What diagnostic methods can be used in transplantology:

• magnetic resonance imaging;
• positron emission method of tomography;
• computer, or virtual, the method of colonoscopy and enterography;
• computer method of angiography and tomography;
• dopplerography (duplex examination);
• radiography;
• encephalography;
• ultrasonography.

These diagnostic techniques are not invasive and provide the most necessary data in order to assess the patient's condition, confirm the diagnosis and determine the possibility and need for an operation.

Among the additional methods can be assigned tests for determining the blood group, for compatibility, for the presence of hidden infections. If necessary, a biopsy of the affected tissue is performed, histology, evaluation of the blood coagulation system, ECG, etc.

What does a transplantologist do?

A transplantologist is a medical specialist with a higher education who deals with transplanting various organs, for example:

• kidney,
• liver,
• bone marrow,
• light,
• pancreas, etc.

Transplantology covers a number of areas:

• xenotransplantation - transfer of tissues to the human body from other animal organisms;
• allotransplantation direction - transfer of tissues and organs from one human organism to another;
• transplantation of artificial organs;
• autotransplantation direction - transplantation of tissues within the same organism;
• creation of clones (asexual reproduction) of organs with the use of stem cells.

The body has a certain number of undifferentiated, stem cell structures. Their location is the bone marrow. Such cells are unique - they can be called the founders of any other cells. Stem cells can be converted into structures such as myocytes, hepatocytes and other cellular organ components. Therefore, now the issue of growing a clone of an organ that needs to be replaced is especially relevant, and soon transplantology will deal with this problem.

What kind of diseases is the transplant treating?

The specialist in transplantology does everything possible to treat severe pathologies that require the replacement of tissues and organs. To date, doctors have the skills to transplant almost any existing organs. Successes have been achieved in the transplantation of the heart, lung, kidneys, liver, elements of the digestive tract (pancreas, parts of the small and large intestine), genital organs.

In the late 1990s, American and French specialists successfully transplanted the carpal part of the limb.

At the moment, scientists are working on such a complex issue as replacing the structures of the nervous system.

For an experienced transplantologist, the task of transplanting any one piece of tissue or a whole organ has long been unattainable. Modern specialists are increasingly practicing complex transplants, during which the injured person simultaneously performs the replacement of several damaged organs. For example, the heart and the affected lung, kidney and pancreas are transplanted.

Councils of a transplantologist

Before choosing which specialist to apply, be sure to ask the reputation of the clinic and a specific doctor, the availability of certificates and licenses for conducting such operations, patient reviews.

You have every right to ask all the questions you are interested in: do not be afraid of it.

Good clinical institutions necessarily advise you the most optimal and competent treatment, and not the most expensive and the one in which there is no need. Do not hesitate to contact at once several specialists to further compare their treatment tactics.

If you are already convinced of the required skills of the chosen specialist, try to contact the former patients of the clinic who can provide you with your own recommendations. This will allow to assess the reputation of the doctor during all his medical activities.

The next question that should be raised before surgery: what can be expected in case of force majeure? A competent specialist must have a plan for the development of unforeseen situations. The doctor should inform the patient of all the dangers and possible consequences that may occur during or after the operation.

Do not miss the opportunity to check the chosen doctor for fitness through other medical institutions. It is also important that the clinic in which the operation is to be conducted is accredited.

Remember that transplantation is an irreversible operation, and it will be impossible to return the time back afterwards.

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