Larrainzar Oscar (Oscar Larrainzar)

Larrainzar Oscar (Oscar Larrainzar)

Biography

2025: Successful bladder transplant

Surgeons at the Ronald Reagan Medical Center at UCLA performed the first human bladder transplant in world practice. The unique operation took place on May 4, 2025 and also included a kidney transplant to a patient who had been on dialysis for seven years.

The complex eight-hour operation was successful, it was performed by 41-year-old Oscar Larrainzar. First, the doctors transplanted the kidney, then the bladder, after which they connected both organs. Inderbir Gill, founder of the Department of Urology at the University of Southern California, who participated in the procedure, noted that this operation represents a historical moment in medicine that can change the approach to treating patients with severe symptoms of the "terminal" bladder.

According to Gill, transplantation is a life-saving and life-improving treatment for many diseases affecting major organs, and now the bladder can be added to this list. The patient is doing well and doctors are happy with his clinical progress.

Preparations for the first-ever bladder transplant took more than four years. Gill and colleague Nima Nassiri developed the new surgical technique, conducted its clinical trials and obtained all the necessary approvals. They managed to overcome the technical difficulties of the procedure associated with the complex vascular structure of the pelvic region.

Nassiri reported that after the operation, the kidney immediately began to produce a large amount of urine, diuresis quickly improved. The patient did not require dialysis and urine was properly drained into the new bladder.

The patient, who became a "trailblazer," had previously suffered a cancer that left him with the removal of his kidneys and bladder. His case demonstrates the potential effectiveness of comprehensive transplantation to improve the quality of life of people with similar medical problems.^[1]

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