Robert Lynn, a patient at New York-Presbyterian Hospital was fortunate to have two talented surgeons handle his medical care. Robert Lynn had a good-sized aneurysm in the artery linked to his kidney. An aneurysm is the enlargement of an artery caused by weakness in the arterial wall. The doctors knew it needed to be treated since it could rupture. A ruptured aneurysm can lead to life-threatening internal bleeding.
The big issue was that Robert Lynn’s kidney was too close to the aneurysm that needed to be repaired. That posed a risk for surgery so the two surgeons, Dr. Nicholas Morrissey (vascular surgeon) and Dr. Lloyd Ratner (transplant surgeon) collaborated on the best approach for the surgery.
The two surgeons came up with a feasible solution: remove the kidney so they could safely reconstruct the artery and fix the aneurysm. Dr. Ratner was able to then place the kidney back into Robert Lynn’s body and reconnect all the blood vessels. Dr. Ratner used a laparoscopic approach to removing the kidney so there were only small incisions in the abdomen.
Robert Lynn only stayed in the hospital for four days. His aneurysm was repaired and his kidney is intact. This is an amazing example of two surgeons working together to fix a complex medical issue. Fortunately, Dr. Morrissey had the foresight to call Dr. Ratner about a solution. And thankfully Dr. Ratner was excited about the procedure, meaning he had confidence it could be done. Robert Lynn was a little scared at first but now he is very happy.
For more information:
https://columbiasurgery.org/nicholas-j-morrissey-md
https://columbiasurgery.org/lloyd-e-ratner-md-mph-facs
That is really radical that you can just remove the kidney when it gets in the way and then put it back.