Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
CATANIA / HEALTHCARE – An extraordinary organisational and surgical achievement has confirmed the high standard of Sicilian healthcare in the field of transplantation. The Azienda ospedaliero-universitaria Policlinico “Rodolico” in Catania has successfully completed a simultaneous double kidney transplant.
The two complex operations were performed in parallel in two separate operating theatres by the team from the reference centre for organ transplants, led by Professor Pier Francesco Veroux, in close and constant coordination with the chief executive of the hospital, Giorgio Giulio Santonocito, and with the regional transplant centre chaired by Giorgio Battaglia.
Ischemia times minimised: organs harvested from a deceased donor
The transplanted organs were harvested from a deceased donor who had suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and were allocated in full compliance with national and regional assignment protocols. The first recipient had undergone a kidney transplant almost 20 years ago, while the second patient had long been dependent on dialysis due to nephropathy of unknown origin.
The flawless organisational system put in place for the procurement and implantation made it possible to minimise ischemia times, ensuring the highest functional quality of the tissues. The clinical outcome was immediate and extraordinary: both patients are in good condition and the kidneys resumed normal excretory function immediately after the patients awoke, making dialysis unnecessary from the first postoperative hours.
The medical and anaesthetic teams involved
Managing the two operating tables simultaneously required the synergistic involvement of numerous highly specialised professionals:
- Surgical team: led by surgeons Massimiliano Veroux, Giuseppe Roscitano and Domenico Spinelli.
- Anaesthetic team: consisting of Enzo Scuderi, Iole Russo and Adriana Lazzaro, supported by the operating theatre nursing staff.
- Postoperative care in the ward: managed by nephrologists Francesca Bruno and Giusi Lorenzano together with the ward nursing team.
Santonocito: “Clinical excellence, but the greatest thanks go to the generosity of the donor’s family”
In commenting on the outcome of the operations, the chief executive Giorgio Giulio Santonocito wished to emphasise the human value underlying the healthcare success:
“The double transplant demonstrates our professionals’ ability to tackle complex procedures with great skill, organisation and coordination between the surgical, anaesthetic, nephrology, nursing and operating theatre teams. I extend my heartfelt thanks to all of them. But I would like to stress above all the significance of this result, which goes beyond clinical and organisational excellence. Every transplant begins with an extraordinary act of generosity, with the choice to donate organs and, through that choice, offer another person a new chance at life. Our deepest gratitude therefore goes to the donor’s family.”
With this latest procedure, the transplant centre at the Rodolico Polyclinic has strengthened its role as a regional reference point: over the past three years, the facility has performed about 60 kidney transplants from deceased and living donors, recording survival and clinical efficiency rates at the top of the sector.
