Suffering from cystic fibrosis and rejecting the transplanted lungs he had gotten just 2 years ago, Jon Sacker came to UPMC from his hometown in Moore, Oklahoma, as a last resort. He became the first person in the U.S. to be implanted with the Hemolung Respiratory Assist System (RAS); a month later, he underwent a double lung transplant and today is on the road to recovery.
Jeremy Feldbusch, an Iraq war veteran, received a facial injury during combat when artillery shrapnel tore through his skull. While surgeons can often reconstruct the bones of the face, it’s hard to return the soft tissue to its original form. While fat grafting is common, using it for facial reconstruction was a completely new, experimental use of this well-known treatment.
