(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A California doctor has a new lease on life after receiving a groundbreaking double-lung and liver transplant at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Time was running out for Dr. Gary Gibbon, a pulmonologist from Santa Monica. Stage 3 lung cancer and treatment he received had ruined his lungs and caused irreparable damage to his liver.
Without getting new lungs and a liver, his life would have been cut short.
“I’ve been a physician for many decades and just the enormity of the science that went into this procedure was just awe-inspiring to me,” Gibbon said in a promotional video provided by Northwestern.
Dr. Ankit Bharat performed the lung transplant portion of the surgery.
“Dr. Gibbon is, to our knowledge, the first recipient of a multi-organ transplant done in the context of cancer -- certainly in the U.S., possibly in the world,” Bharat said.
Dr. Satish Nadig performed the liver transplant. He said without the lung and liver transplants, Dr. Gibbon would not be here today, cancer-free, breathing on his own and celebrating his 69th birthday.
He said transplantation is very different from 20 years ago, five years ago and even one year ago, thanks to technology that better preserves organs when they are outside the body.
Says Gibbon: "Special is like too weak a term. I feel blessed."
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