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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (July 28, 2010) – The first ovarian transplant in the state of Kansas and the Kansas City area was performed Tuesday at The University of Kansas Hospital.
Dr. Sam Kim, who performed the surgery, is one of only three doctors in the country who perform the procedure.
The patient, 39 year old Loraine Martin from the Pacific Northwest, is a cancer survivor. She had Dr. Kim take tissue from an ovary before undergoing extensive chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma when she was 29.
Dr. Sam Kim, associate professor of reproductive endocrinology and infertility, performed the first ovarian transplant in the state of Kansas. The procedure will give the patient, a cancer survivor, the chance to get pregnant.
When Dr. Kim arrived at The University of Kansas Hospital in 2007, he brought the frozen tissue with him.
On Tuesday, July 27, 2010, Dr. Kim thawed 10 pieces of her ovarian tissue and inserted it between the skin and the muscle wall of the abdomen, which was damaged from chemotherapy.
“We will know in about 4 to 6 months if the procedure allows the damaged ovary to start producing eggs again,” said Dr. Kim. “If this procedure doesn’t take, we can perform it again or consider transplanting the healthy thawed tissue right on the damaged ovary. The key is that there are options.”
A similar procedure from a doctor in St. Louis resulted in a birth this month.
As for the patient, “I want people to know that when young women face cancer, there are ways to not only beat cancer but to preserve fertility in the process,” said Martin. “Even if this doesn’t result in a pregnancy, I know fertility preservation gave me hope.”
Dr. Kim agrees.
“It is critical to take fertility preservation steps for young women, even teenagers, when cancer is first diagnosed, before treatment begins. If they begin treatment, it may be too late. It is important to discuss fertility preservation options before cancer treatment, so that women can keep the hope to have children after they survive cancer,” said Dr. Kim.
The University of Kansas Hospital is the region's premier academic medical center, providing a full range of care. The hospital is affiliated with the University of Kansas Schools of Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health, and their various leading edge research projects. The constantly growing facility contains 583 staffed beds and serves more than 24,000 inpatients annually. The University of Kansas Hospital comprehensive heart program is ranked 37th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report and is housed in the state of the art Center for Advanced Heart Care. The cancer program is part of The University of Kansas Cancer Center, based in the region’s largest outpatient cancer facility, the Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Care Pavilion, located in Westwood, Kansas, 1 ½ miles from the main hospital. The hospital has received Magnet nursing designation, reflecting the quality of care throughout the hospital, an honor awarded to only 3.5 percent of the hospitals nationwide. The hospital also houses the region's only burn center, liver transplant program and the area's only nationally accredited Level I Trauma Center.