Piedmont Atlanta Hospital Performs Its First Rare Joint Liver-Heart Transplant

ATLANTA, Aug. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Piedmont Transplant Institute and Piedmont Heart Institute surgeons have performed a rare joint liver-heart transplant. The joint transplant for an adult patient is the first one of its kind in Georgia in a decade – and only the second adult procedure performed in the state. Only 50 dual liver-heart transplants have ever been performed in the southeastern United States, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).

Piedmont Atlanta has become one of the busiest transplant centers in the country for standalone liver and heart transplantation. It is a top 10 program by number of patients for liver transplants and top 5 for heart transplants.

Poor heart function can negatively impact the liver and vice versa; certain conditions can damage both organs at the same time as well. Transplant surgery for either organ requires the other to be strong enough to withstand the patient having major surgery, and that is often not the case for this patient population. For example, according to one study, the mortality rate for patients with advanced liver scarring (cirrhosis) who have a standalone heart transplant can be close to 50%. 

"The multidisciplinary approach of dual liver-heart transplantation is an important option for patients experiencing the failure of both organs," said Jonathan Hundley, M.D., surgical director of the liver transplant program at Piedmont.

"Each of these surgeries will be a highly coordinated effort between the heart and liver transplant teams," added Ezequiel Molina, M.D., surgical director of the heart transplant program at Piedmont.

Piedmont also offers combined kidney-heart, kidney-liver and kidney-pancreas transplants.

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SOURCE Piedmont Healthcare