One year after becoming the first person to be the recipient of a bladder transplant, Oscar Larrainzar is thriving, and Dr. Nima Nassiri, the urologic transplant surgeon, has already completed a second successful bladder transplant. Dr. Nassiri leads the groundbreaking UCLA Health clinical trial that launched by transferring a kidney and a bladder into the 41-year-old cancer survivor. At the time, Larrainzar was on dialysis and hadn’t had a functioning bladder in 7 years. During the complex procedure, the surgeons transplanted the donated kidney, following that with the bladder. The new kidney was then connected to the new bladder using the technique that Nassiri pioneered. The entire procedure lasted approximately 8 hours. After the first-of-its-kind surgery, Larrainzar now has full use of his new bladder. He is working again and even enjoyed a recent family getaway to Las Vegas.
