History In 1896 Emil Knauer, a 29-year-old Austrian working in one of Viennas gynecological clinics, published the first study of ovarian autotransplantation documenting normal function in a rabbit. This led to the investigation of uterine transplantation in 1918. In 1964 and 1966, Eraslan, Hamernik and Hardy, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, were the first to perform an animal (dog) autotransplantation of the uterus and subsequently deliver a pregnancy from that uterus. In 2010 Diaz-Garcia and co-workers, at Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Gothenburg in Sweden, demonstrated the worlds first successful allogenic uterus transplantation, in a rat, with healthy offspring. In humans In 1931 Lili Elbe in Denmark died from organ rejection three months after receiving one of the worlds earliest uterine transplants. With the availability of in vitro fertilization in 1978, uterine transplantation research was deferred. In Saudi Arabia in 2000, a uterine transplant was performed by Dr. Wafa Fagee, from a 46 year old hysterectomy patient into a 26 year-old recipient. whose own uterus had hemorrhaged after childbirth. The transplanted uterus functioned for 99 days, but ultimately needed to be removed after failure due to blood clotting. Within the medical community there was some debate as to whether or not the transplant could truly be considered to have been successful Post-operatively, the patient had two spontaneous menstrual cycles, followed by amenorrhoea; exploratory laparotomy confirmed uterine necrosis. The procedure has raised some moral and ethical concerns, which have been addressed in the literature. In Turkey, on 9 August 2011, the worlds first uterus transplant from a deceased donor was conducted by a team of doctors at Akdeniz University Hospital in Antalya.21-year-old Turkish woman Derya Sert, who had been born without a uterus, was the first woman in history to receive a womb from a deceased donor. The operation, performed by Dr. Ömer Özkan, Dr. Munire Erman Akar and their team, was the worlds first uterus transplant surgery gaining long-term function, as evident by the fact that Ms. Sert has had six menstrual periods post-surgery and is said to have a fully-functioning the uterus. The Turkish medical team who performed the delicate surgery, however, is still cautious about declaring the operation a complete success. The surgery was a success. But we will be successful when she has her baby, Ozkan said. For now, we are happy that the tissue is living. On 12 April 2013, Akdeniz University announced that Derya Sert was pregnant. The statement made by the university hospital also added that Ms Sert would give birth by C-section to prevent any complications. On 14 May 2013, it was announced that Ms Sert had terminated her pregnancy in its 8th week following a routine examination where doctors failed to detect a fetal heartbeat. In Sweden in 2012, the first mother-to-daughter womb transplant was done by Swedish doctors at Sahlgrenska University Hospital at Gothenburg University led by Mats Brännström. The Uterus transplantation trial encompasses a total of 9 recipients.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 23:09:16 +0000