MUHC Perfusionists Win Two of the Three Awards at the APQI – Use Pig Liver to Save Patient

On June 1st, MUHC perfusionists took home two of the three awards at the Quebec Perfusionists Association Inc. (APQI).

Wait! What is a perfusionist you ask?

Totally Clueless we turned to the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) newsroom for the answer.

“True specialists in cardiac, pulmonary and circulatory care, perfusionists keep patients alive using highly specialized equipment during surgical procedures or treatments that require the support or even the complete bypassing of vital body functions.”

Similar to what MUHC perfusionists France Denis and Ramzi Majaj, who received the Innovation Award, did 25 years ago when they used a liver taken from a pig to help save a patient awaiting a liver transplant.

“The perfusion lasted a bit more than four hours,” Denis told the MUHC newsroon. “A half-hour after starting the treatment, the patient opened her eyes, and an hour and a half later, she responded to stimuli. This proved that the procedure was a success.”

These efforts allowed the patient to live long enough for a donor to be found, 14 hours later.

May Tam, the chief cardiovascular perfusionist at the MUHC, received the Community Involvement Award. For among other things, her participation in designing the operating rooms at the Glen superhospital as well as the logistics of transferring patients from the old Royal Victoria Hospital in 2015.

Source: MUHC Newsroom