Groundbreaking liver transplant recipient marks 25th anniversary of procedure

[Clark]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/groundbreaking-liver-transplant-recipient-marks-25th-anniversary-of-procedure/2014/11/27/f8be4c5a-767c-11e4-9d9b-86d397daad27_story.html

Groundbreaking liver transplant recipient marks 25th anniversary of procedure

Alyssa Riggan hasn’t dwelled on being the first person in the United States to successfully receive part of a liver from a living donor 25 years ago, a medical procedure that paved the way for routine live-donor transplants.

The anniversary fell on Thanksgiving this year. Riggan was 21 months old when her mother, Teri Smith, donated more than a third of her liver to save her daughter from a disorder called biliary atresia. Its success has enabled her to live a normal life, almost completely untouched by what was an often-fatal disorder.

“Most of the time, I didn’t think about it,” Riggan, 26, said in an interview this week at her home in Severn, noting that her good health has enabled her to enjoy ballet and tap dancing since she was 5. “All of my anniversaries are really big, so that’s when you really think about it the most.”

The procedure expanded the options for children with liver disorders. Biliary atresia is a disease that blocks liver bile ducts, backing up bile in the bloodstream and the liver. Before Riggan’s operation, liver transplants from living donors had been performed only four times — in Brazil, Australia and Japan. Those surgeries involved desperately ill children. Riggan’s transplant was the first on a child with time to wait.

The University of Chicago team that performed the surgery was led by Dr. Christoph Broelsch. The youngest member was Dr. Dick Thistlethwaite, then 41.

“I can tell you we were all extremely concerned about the safety of the mother, Teri, who was just a trouper throughout,” Thistlethwaite said. “We were really thankful she got through the operation safely. The feeling when Alyssa’s operation was finished was one of elation that it appeared to be a success. . . . It was a feeling we had really done something worthwhile that would help, not just this patient, but others as well.”