Transplant Surgery

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The Transplant Surgery Stream is designed to provide MSc student in their Diploma year, with an opportunity to experience and learn more about modern transplantation surgery.  Modern transplantation surgery requires in-depth knowledge of a broad spectrum of clinical pathways related to organ donation, allocation, preservation and reconditioning, as well as pre-transplant evaluation, preparation and post-transplant challenges.  Furthermore, surgical techniques related to organ donation (deceased and living donors) and transplantation are complex, challenging and ever-evolving. 

The two modules aim to prepare the trainee surgeon for leadership and responsibility in the donation and transplantation process, to work efficiently to implement modern clinical pathways and to deal with complex transplant challenges.  Always linked to practice, the tuition includes academic analysis, evaluation and critique of systems and papers. Students will be given an opportunity to discuss and debate the efficient implementation of modern clinical pathways that deal with complex transplant challenges.  

Module 1: Principles of Transplantation Surgery 

The module aims to prepare the surgeon as the leader of the MDT team that takes responsibility for the donation and transplantation process and works efficiently to implement modern clinical pathways.

Topics and themes:

  • Organ donation and allocations systems
  • Indications and contraindications for organ donation
  • Organ preservation, assessment and reconditioning
  • Work up potential transplant recipients
  • Deceased donor or living donor transplantation analyses, standard and extended criteria donation and transplantation
  • Basic immunological principles
  • Modern immunosuppressive protocols
  • Post-transplant risks
  • Basic principles of transplant pathology - parenchymal injury and rejection
  • Ethical challenges related to organ donation and transplantation

Module 2: Transplant Surgery Techniques and Complications 

The module aims to offer a comprehensive analysis of the pathophysiological principles and technical aspects of modern organ donation and transplant surgery. Equally importantly, the module offers a sound understanding of the complications related to organ donation and transplantation surgery and offers a robust overview of the ways to treat them. Finally, the module prepares the students to be leading figures in an MDT team dealing with complex transplant challenges.

Topics and themes:

  • Multi-organ retrieval
  • Deceased donors - brain stem or circulatory death
  • Living kidney, liver, pancreas and small bowel donation
  • Kidney transplantation
  • Liver transplantation
  • Pancreas transplantation
  • Small bowel transplantation
  • The role of MDT team leads -  complex donation and transplantation surgery

Stream Organisers: Professor Vassilios Papalois and Mr Frank Dor
Location: St Mary's Campus and Hammersmith Hospital
Module Dates: 
Principles of Transplantation Surgery: 7 - 11 June 2021
Transplant Surgery Techniques and Complications: 12 - 16 July 2021

Transplant Surgery is just one specialist stream offered in the Surgical Innovation MSc. Find out more about the Imperial College Surgical Innovation degrees and the other streams available.