Through a radical transplant surgery, the first of its kind conducted in the Commonwealth, University surgeons cured 15-year-old Ashley Lilly of a serious form of pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas. By transferring the insulin-producing islet cells from Lilly's pancreas to her liver, the surgeons successfully prevented the possible future complication of diabetes.
University Medical Center Spokesperson Ellen McKenna explained that the function of the pancreas is to maintain necessary levels of insulin. Removal of the organ would have put Lilly at risk of diabetes.
According to McKenna, two factors emphasized the significance of the operation. First, because the doctors used Lilly's own islet cells instead of those of donors, she does not have to deal with daily and indefinite consumption of strong immunosuppressive drugs, which are typically administered in transplant surgeries.
"That's big in terms of advancement," she said.
The second factor McKenna outlined was the importance of the islet cells. Even though doctors removed a large portion of Lilly's pancreas, "her body will still be producing insulin, so she won't develop diabetes," McKenna added.
Fritz Angle, chief of the division of interventional radiology and one of Lilly's surgeons, said the procedure was relatively uncomplicated for the patient.
"The surgery is really what we call a minimally invasive procedure, he said. "She was in really no serious discomfort and didn't require any prolonged hospitalization because of the procedure."
University Surgery Prof. Kenneth Brayman, who also took part in the surgery, said the University houses only one of about 10 laboratories in the U.S. that is conducting these surgeries.
The procedure was the first in this region, and has only been performed "a couple hundred times," according to Brayman. "We've built a special laboratory ... to process the pancreas to derive the insulin-producing cells."
Additionally, Brayman said he hopes the University will take a leadership role in finding a cure for diabetes.
Lilly's operation "was a form of cell therapy and falls under the general category of regenerative medicine," Brayman said. "We want U.Va to be a leader in regenerative medicine, and our goal is to cure diabetes."
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