Patient Stories from the McGowan Institute

How to Heal a Broken Heart​
When Erika Haas got sick, she didn't imagine that she'd become a pioneer in regenerative medicine.
 
"I thought I had bronchitis, because the girl next to me had it," says the 30-year-old. She was partly right. It was a virus. But it was hitting her body much harder than her classmate's: It was causing her heart to fail.
 
>> Read Erika's story. ​
Lucky Liko, Lucky Us​

In spring 2004, Liko the dolphin suffered a serious injury to the base of his dorsal fin, that tell-tale wedge you see cutting through the water as dolphins swim offshore.

Fearing that Liko would lose his dorsal fin to further injury or infection, Dolphin Quest Hawaii asked UPMC researcher Stephen Badylak for help.

>> Read Liko's story.​

Back in Control ​

As the nation's number of senior citizens increases, urinary incontinence is projected to become a more prevalent problem.  For many, it will become a serious quality-of-life issue.

A promising new technique to cure urinary incontinence, developed by Drs. Michael Chancellor and Johnny Huard, is revolutionary because it uses the body's own stem cells.

>> Read about this innovative research. ​

 

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