In a remarkable medical breakthrough, surgeons at NYU Langone Health have successfully performed the first-ever combined mechanical heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney transplant surgery. The procedure, led by Dr. Robert Montgomery and his team at the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, brought new hope to a 54-year-old woman suffering from heart and kidney failure, showcasing the incredible possibilities of modern medicine.

The complex intervention was performed in two stages. The patient, Lisa Pisano, underwent the surgical implantation of a heart pump, known as a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), several days before the landmark transplant. The transplant involved a gene-edited pig kidney and a pig's thymus gland, which were incorporated to help prevent rejection. Prior to the surgery, Pisano faced heart failure and end-stage kidney disease, and due to her chronic medical conditions, she was not a suitable candidate for a human transplant.