Surgeons in California have performed the first successful bladder transplant in history. They have helped a patient who had previously had his bladder and both kidneys removed as a result of treatment for cancer and end-stage renal disease.

The treatment has enabled the patient, 41-year-old father of four Oscar Larainsar, to forego dialysis, although the surgery comes with significant short and long-term risks and unknowns.

The bladder transplant was performed by two surgeons who worked for years to develop the technique, which was used to transplant a single kidney and bladder recovered from a human donor, the newspaper reported. “The Guardian”.

“This surgery is a historic moment in medicine and has the potential to impact the way we manage carefully selected patients with highly symptomatic ‘terminal’ bladders that are no longer functioning,” said Dr. Inderbir Gill, executive director of the University of Southern California's Institute of Urology and one of two surgeons who worked on the case.

“Transplantation is a life-saving and life-enhancing treatment option for many conditions affecting major organs, and now the bladder can be added to that list,” the doctor said.

Gill performed the surgery with Dr. Nima Nasiri of the UCLA Institute of Urology.

"This first bladder transplant attempt has been more than four years in the making. For appropriately selected patients, it is exciting to be able to offer a new potential option," said Dr. Nasiri.

Patients who have their bladder removed most often use part of the bowel to pass urine, which often leads to a host of new complications, including infections and digestive problems. These complications have driven doctors around the world to seek bladder transplant techniques for years.

The transplant, performed in early May, has so far been successful and doctors are “pleased” with Larainsar's recovery, although many unknowns remain. For example, how Larainzar's new bladder will function over time and how long he will have to take immune suppressant drugs to prevent the organ from rejecting.

Doctors plan to perform more bladder transplants as part of a clinical trial at UCLA Health to better understand potential complications and help patients who suffer from severe bladder disease. | BGNES