A mom gives life twice with living-donor liver transplant

Dawn Cavanaugh carefully and calmly navigates the roads of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, with a bus full of kids, bringing them to school and safely back home again at the end of each day. As a bus driver, it’s the methodical beat of her everyday life. Last year, as a mom, she was navigating a very different journey, one in which she did everything in her power — including giving a portion of her liver — to bring her daughter Lydia home safely. “As far as I’m concerned, my role in this life is to care for my kids,” says Dawn. “And if I have to give a part of myself to do that, that’s all there is to it.” On the morning of July 15, 2015, Boston Children’s Hospital surgeons Dr. Khashayar Vakili and Dr. Heung Bae Kim begin prepping 11-year-old Lydia for what will be an all-day liver transplant surgery. Dawn is about to undergo surgery as well, 20 miles away at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, in Burlington, Massachusetts, where Boston Children’s adult liver-donor surgeries take place. A portion of Dawn’s healthy liver will be removed to replace Lydia’s diseased liver. The surgery is not without risk. “The anatomy of the liver is very complex and a liver transplant involves creating multiple connections between the organ and the recipient — it’s a technical challenge to do it well,” says Vakili. “When a part of liver is split from a living donor, we can use that segment to transplant since the liver regenerates. Dawn’s liver will g...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Our Patients’ Stories biliary atresia Heung Bae Kim Khashayar Vakili Liver transplant Liver Transplant Program living donor Pediatric Transplant Center (PTC) Source Type: news