She explained the process of the first uterus transplant in the world: “We followed the patient for about ten weeks with our hearts in our mouths”

Akdeniz University Rector Prof. Dr. Özlenen Özkan and Organ Transplant Center Director Prof. Dr. Ömer Özkan shared their successful studies in their fields at the congress.

The 46th National Congress of the Turkish Society of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery was held in Antalya. Akdeniz University Rector Prof. Dr. Özlenen Özkan and Akdeniz University Prof. Dr. Tuncer Karpuzoğlu Organ Transplant Center Director Prof. Dr. Ömer Özkan attended the congress as a speaker, bringing together experts from different fields of plastic surgery. In the scientific program, the latest techniques and multidisciplinary approaches in aesthetic and reconstructive surgery were discussed.

“Women's desire to be a mother”

Akdeniz University Rector Prof. Dr. Özlenen Özkan, who made a presentation titled Uterus Transplant: From the First Successful Case to the Latest Situation in the World, explained the process of uterus transplantation in her speech. Stating that uterus transplantation is performed for gynecological indications such as uterus-related infertility, Prof. Dr. Özkan said that these operations offer an important solution instead of illegal alternatives such as surrogacy in Turkey. Explaining how the process of uterus transplantation started, Rector Prof. Dr. Özkan said, “We had 200-300 female patients who came for treatment for different reasons and did not have a uterus. Our married patients were coming to us with the desire to have a child. The only solution was uterus transplantation because surrogate mothers were illegal. After that, uterus transplantation came to our minds and we started dealing with the procedure.”

“We followed with our hearts in our mouths”

Rector Prof. Dr. Özlenen Özkan, who also explained their experiences with the uterus transplant, which was the first in the world, said: “We achieved seven pregnancies in our first patient, but somehow a problem arose in the eighth and ninth weeks. While thinking about the cause, we realized that there was a defect in the place where the fetus was sitting. We eliminated it. We eliminated it and the patient became pregnant immediately after the embryo transfer after this surgery. We followed the patient with our hearts in our mouths for about ten weeks. And our first baby, Ömer Özkan Sert, was born.”

“The Swedish team succeeded”

Explaining that the first uterus transplant in the world was performed in Saudi Arabia in 2000, but the uterus had to be retrieved later, Rector Prof. Dr. Özkan stated that there was no clinical development in this sense for 11 years and said, “In 2011, our team successfully performed the first uterus transplant from cadaver in the world. The team that struggled the most with this was the Swedish team. The Swedish team was surprised after our success. After a week, they came to us and we helped them. After they returned, they made a trial of 9 diseases. 2 of them failed. Later, teams from other countries came to share their experiences. After Sweden, China, USA, Brazil and Germany joined this adventure. So far, more than 20 countries have performed uterus transplants. Especially after 2015, the number of transplants performed in the world has increased.” Stating that the USA does not share data in this sense, Prof. Dr. Özlenen Özkan explained that the total number of transplants performed in countries excluding the USA has reached 81 and 43 patients have become mothers. Rector Özkan said that when the USA is included, nearly 120 patients have undergone uterus transplants and more than fifty babies have been born. Rector Prof. Dr. Özlenen Özkan said, “In all these transplants, the Özkan technique is used all over the world. I would like to say this with pride.”

“Suitable until age 39”

Prof. Dr. Özkan stated that the success of uterus transplantation is ensured by the selection of recipients and donors in the appropriate age group and that live birth rates of up to 50 percent are achieved in the operations performed. Providing information about the appropriate patient profile for uterus transplantation, Rector Prof. Dr. Özkan said, “The perspective in the world is as follows: It is ideal for the recipient to be under the age of 39. If it is above this age, the chances decrease a little. In the transplants we performed, the patients were 24 years old.” Lastly, Özkan stated that they have pioneered in different fields such as face and arm transplants as well as uterus transplantation at Akdeniz University and that uterus transplantation has opened a new door of hope for women in Turkey and that the ongoing success in this field is a source of motivation.

Prof. Dr. Ömer Özkan explained innovative approaches

Prof. Dr. Ömer Özkan, who led the team that performed the world's first uterus transplant and Turkey's first face and arm transplants, gave information about various advanced case examples and surgical techniques. Prof. Dr. Ömer Özkan, who gave examples of extensive repairs performed in different regions, stated that they achieved successful results with grafts in cases such as a nine-year-old girl who was severely injured by being run over by a truck, and said, “Even in children who were run over by a truck, we can give them the ability to walk with many shape changes.” One of the interesting cases presented by Prof. Dr. Ömer Özkan was a patient with a large facial tumor that was previously considered inoperable. Prof. Dr. Ömer Özkan stated that by removing the patient's facial tumor with a large surgical intervention, they offered the patient a better quality of life and that the patient has been living healthily for 17 years without the need for tube feeding. Another example was the development of an innovative method that made it possible to feed a patient from Australia with a colon segment. Expressing his belief in the power of reconstructive surgery by saying, “Everything can be overcome,” Özkan said, “We improve the quality of life of patients thanks to many innovative methods such as functional muscle transfer and nerve repair.”

The importance of surgical intervention in breast cancer

Prof. Dr. Ömer Özkan reminded that we are in Breast Cancer Awareness Month and emphasized the importance of surgical interventions in breast cancer cases. Emphasizing that surgery in breast cancer is very important, Prof. Dr. Ömer Özkan said, “Patients do not understand this in the first place. Breast cancer metastasizes in a long time. In this sense, the safety of the surgery is very important. There are two issues here, health and aesthetics. Unfortunately, due to aesthetic concerns, health is sometimes put on the back burner in surgeries. It is necessary not to jeopardize the patient's life while trying to make aesthetics. Unfortunately, we see this example a lot.”

Awards to young researchers

The main theme of the congress was innovative techniques and developments in the areas of aesthetic surgery such as the face, breast and nose, and the sessions included case studies on the latest surgical techniques and the challenges faced in these areas. The Assistant Paper Competition for young researchers and the Expert Research Competition open to expert-level researchers played an important role in the congress. Aiming to provide knowledge and experience to the plastic surgeons of the future by supporting innovative ideas, the successful assistants received their awards from the doyens of the sector.