News & Events: Bariatric Surgery for Transplant Candidates

Andrew Posselt, MD, PhD is a transplant and bariatric surgeon and professor of surgery at UCSF.  Dr. Posselt performs kidney, liver, pancreas and islet transplants. He is also among a handful surgeons in the country who also performs bariatric surgery for patients who would otherwise be transplant candidates, but for their BMI and weight.  Dr. Posselt is also director the pancreatic islet transplantation program and as a surgeon-scientist conducts breakthrough research in islet transplantation, tolerance or rejection of transplanted tissue, and the metabolic and biochemical changes seen in [...]

ABC News reports on the improved chance of having successful organ transplants in patients undergoing bariatric surgery: Gone may be the days of limiting bariatric surgery just to helping patients lose weight. Indeed, these weight loss surgeries, in all forms, do just as the name describes. But a slew of new research suggests bariatric surgery can also be used to help reverse medical complications of obesity, not just eliminate obesity itself. These procedures may reduce the risk of chronic disease, and even help patients better qualify for organ transplants, according to studies presented [...]