Francisco Carmona1, Mariona Rius2, Berta Díaz-Feijoo3, Mireia Musquera4, Jaume Tort5, Antonio Alcaraz4. 1. Service of Gynecology, Institut Clínic de Ginecologia, Obstetrícia, i Neonatologia, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, University of Barcelona, Villarroel 170, 08036 Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'Investigacions Biomédiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Villarroel 170, 08036 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: fcarmona@clinic.cat. 2. Service of Gynecology, Institut Clínic de Ginecologia, Obstetrícia, i Neonatologia, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, University of Barcelona, Villarroel 170, 08036 Barcelona, Spain. 3. Service of Gynecology, Institut Clínic de Ginecologia, Obstetrícia, i Neonatologia, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, University of Barcelona, Villarroel 170, 08036 Barcelona, Spain; Institut d'Investigacions Biomédiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Villarroel 170, 08036 Barcelona, Spain. 4. Service of Urology, Hospital Clínic, Villarroel 170, 08036 Barcelona, Spain. 5. Organització Catalana de Trasplantaments (OCATT), Passeig del Taulat, 106-116, 08005 Barcelona, Spain.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: To describe the development and characteristics living donor uterine transplantation program of the Hospital Clínic (Barcelona, Spain) and to report the first successful procedure in Southern Europe. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 31-year-old female suffering of Rokitansky Syndrome underwent uterus transplant from her living sister, as a part of our research protocol. Before the transplant, the patient underwent an in vitro fertilization procedure and twelve embryos were obtained and cryopreserved. The uterus obtention procedure was performed entirely by robotic surgery and lasted 10h, being the main objective to obtain arterial and venous pedicles of good quality in order to ensure the vitality of the graft. The surgical procedure in the recipient was performed by laparotomy and the vascular anastomoses were performed in a terminolateral fashion, with polypropylene 8-0, the vaginal cuff of the graft was sutured to the recipient vaginal vault and the round and utero-sacral ligaments were fixed to the remaining recipient ligaments. Immunosuppressive treatment was prescribed following the protocols from other groups modified according to the solid organ transplantation protocols from our center. RESULTS: The donor and recipient were discharged without any major complications. The recipient ultrasound scan showed a normal flow in both uterine arteries and veins. A grade II rejection was treated with high dose corticoids with subsequent normal biopsies and a vaginal stricture was treated with the placement of an esophageal stent for 4 weeks. The patient had her first menstrual period 47 days after the surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The case reported here open new options in Spain for a wide group of patients that had no medical solution for a disease that deeply impairs their quality of life.
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: To describe the development and characteristics living donor uterine transplantation program of the Hospital Clínic (Barcelona, Spain) and to report the first successful procedure in Southern Europe. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 31-year-old female suffering of Rokitansky Syndrome underwent uterus transplant from her living sister, as a part of our research protocol. Before the transplant, the patient underwent an in vitro fertilization procedure and twelve embryos were obtained and cryopreserved. The uterus obtention procedure was performed entirely by robotic surgery and lasted 10h, being the main objective to obtain arterial and venous pedicles of good quality in order to ensure the vitality of the graft. The surgical procedure in the recipient was performed by laparotomy and the vascular anastomoses were performed in a terminolateral fashion, with polypropylene 8-0, the vaginal cuff of the graft was sutured to the recipient vaginal vault and the round and utero-sacral ligaments were fixed to the remaining recipient ligaments. Immunosuppressive treatment was prescribed following the protocols from other groups modified according to the solid organ transplantation protocols from our center. RESULTS: The donor and recipient were discharged without any major complications. The recipient ultrasound scan showed a normal flow in both uterine arteries and veins. A grade II rejection was treated with high dose corticoids with subsequent normal biopsies and a vaginal stricture was treated with the placement of an esophageal stent for 4 weeks. The patient had her first menstrual period 47 days after the surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The case reported here open new options in Spain for a wide group of patients that had no medical solution for a disease that deeply impairs their quality of life.