Medical Breakthroughs

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Medical Breakthroughs

Fertility Miracle

Houston IVF recently announced the first live births of children conceived using oocyte cryopreservation, also known as “egg freezing,” in the state of Texas. The twin boy and girl were born in May, according to Dr. Timothy Hickman, medical director at Houston IVF and reproductive endocrinologist at Women’s Memorial Hermann Memorial City, the women’s service of Memorial Hermann Memorial City Hospital.

“The immediate breakthrough, the one we are most excited about, is for women diagnosed with cancer,” Dr. Hickman said. “The ability to freeze their eggs will give patients preparing for cancer treatment the opportunity to conceive a child anytime following their cancer treatment. Previously, the eggs had to be fertilized with partner or donor sperm prior to freezing.”

The children’s parents, Christopher and Ivonne Pena, took part in one of Houston IVF’s clinical studies last summer.

While researchers have been successful at freezing sperm and embryos for preservation of fertility, egg freezing has presented a more difficult challenge, as previous attempted procedures damaged or destroyed the eggs upon thawing. The national success rate for live births from frozen eggs is about two percent, and a 2009 study showed only 936 babies had been born from frozen eggs worldwide to date.

Triple Transplant Breakthrough

Doctors at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston recently performed the hospital’s first triple-organ transplant on a 16-year-old Brenham resident.

The patient, Taylor Sherrouse, underwent a 13-hour surgery to replace her heart, lungs and liver, which had been severely damaged by cystic fibrosis. Taylor is one of only three pediatric patients in the country this decade to receive heart, lungs and liver in one operation.

Jeffrey S. Heinle, MD, surgical director of Texas Children’s heart and lung transplantation program, performed the heart-and-double-lung portion of the transplant, which lasted more than nine hours. Once the heart and lungs were transplanted, Dr. John Goss, director of the liver transplant programs at Texas Children’s and associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine, performed a three and a half hour liver transplant.

“The triple combination of heart-lung-liver transplantation is a rare pediatric procedure in this country,” said Heinle, who is also an assistant professor of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine.

“We are extremely pleased with Taylor’s progress. We believe this operation will give her an opportunity for a good quality of life and a chance to fulfill some of her dreams. Without the three organs, her long-term outlook was not good.”

Taylor has been treated for cystic fibrosis at Texas Children’s for 12 years. During that time, she has suffered recurring liver problems or respiratory infections that landed her in the hospital for weeks at a time. Doctors worked hard to keep her condition stable, but her lungs and liver continued to worsen.

In early November 2009, she was admitted to Texas Children’s with a lung infection. Even though she hoped to be home by Thanksgiving, she was never able to leave the hospital. During those seven months, her liver and lungs were getting progressively worse.

Cardiologists then diagnosed a restrictive cardiomyopathy, meaning that her heart muscle was stiff and chambers could not properly fill with blood.

Portable Heart/Lung Machine

The Methodist Hospital is the first in the U.S. to use a portable heart/lung machine to move critically ill patients easily and safely to different areas of the hospital for medical tests or from outlying hospitals to the medical center for specialized treatment.

Recently approved for use in the U.S. by the FDA, the device has been used in Europe since 2008 with excellent results.

The small, portable Lifebridge device, weighing less than 40 pounds, provides complete cardiopulmonary support for patients who are in cardiogenic shock, an acute, life-threatening situation in which blood circulation is reduced because the heart can no longer pump enough oxygenated blood to the body’s organs.

Without mechanical assistance for the heart and lungs, the patient’s organs fail and recovery is impossible. Existing heart/lung machines cannot be moved with the ill patient because of their size and weight.