Aou Senese performs rare combined heart and kidney transplant

Medical specialists at the Azienda ospedaliero-universitaria Senese in Siena have successfully performed a rare combined heart and kidney transplant on a patient suffering from severe heart failure and end-stage chronic renal failure. This marks the first combined heart-kidney transplant conducted in Tuscany since 2010.

The procedure involved a highly coordinated multidisciplinary effort between cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, nephrologists, and urologists. Following a seven-month hospitalization, the patient first underwent a heart transplant performed by Dr. Massimo Maccherini and his team.

To manage the second stage, the donor kidney was placed in a perfusion machine to extend ischemia times and preserve organ function while the patient stabilized in intensive care. Once clinical stability was achieved, the kidney transplant was performed by Professor Vincenzo Li Marzi. Both organs responded immediately, and the patient has since been discharged.