Transplant specialists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center were not shooting for another new record when they began planning a double-lung and liver transplant in February 2025. Yet, they faced a complex case that ultimately led to the first known successful concomitant heart bypass surgery, bilateral lung transplantation and liver transplantation, saving a 60-year-old patient with multiple organ diseases.
Michelle Ankele-Yamashita was turned down by multiple transplant centers between Honolulu and Nashville before the Vanderbilt accepted her.
Patient Success Story
Search Lands South African Man at Vanderbilt for Life-Saving Lung Transplant
Searching the world for the best place for a transplant, Johannesburg's Mervyn Joseph is thankful he found the Vanderbilt Transplant Center, where he had a successful double-lung transplant and now feels like "a new person."
A Longer Life for Patients With Severe Lung Disease
Learn more about Vanderbilt Lung Institute's expanded lung transplant program that gives hope to patients suffering from end-stage lung disease.
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