The Liver Center at Baylor College of Medicine, already renowned for having the highest liver transplant survival rate in Texas among high-volume programs, has something new to celebrate. Dr. John Goss, professor of surgery in the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at BCM, has performed his 1,000th liver transplant since joining the BCM faculty.
This milestone was reached on June 7 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital.
Goss is director of liver transplant programs at St. Luke’s, Texas Children’s Hospital and the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. He performed these life-saving operations at these institutions and at The Methodist Hospital over the past 12 years with the support of his team of surgeons, nurses, hepatologists, medical specialists, and support staff.
“Liver transplantation provides the sole chance for survival for children and adults devastated by liver diseases. We are all grateful that the organ families have graciously donated to make this operation possible. The donors and our patients are our heroes,” said Goss, who is also the chief of the division of abdominal transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery at BCM.
The survival rate is more than 95 percent for the BCM liver transplant program. It is the No. 1 program in Texas among programs performing more than 35 transplants yearly.
“The Baylor liver transplant program is an outstanding success,” said Dr. Stephen Spann, senior vice president and dean of clinical affairs at BCM. “Dr. Goss, Dr. Stribling and their team have a commitment to excellence that is evident in their success and the life-saving care they have given to hundreds of patients. Liver transplant patients at Texas Children’s Hospital, the DeBakey VA and St. Luke’s have benefited from the comprehensive team approach that they have championed.”
Goss and Dr. Risë Stribling, associate professor of surgery at BCM and medical director of the St. Luke’s Liver Transplant and VA Medical Center Programs, co-founded the The Liver Center at BCM to provide comprehensive care for all patients with liver diseases.
“Our team of hepatologists, radiologists, oncologists, pathologists and medical consultants collaborate with our surgeons to provide advanced medical and surgical care based on the latest research and technologies,” said Stribling.
Goss and Stribling both credit their UCLA mentor, Dr. Ronald Busuttil, with motivating them to pursue a collaborative approach to improving the care of all patients with liver diseases and the survival of those undergoing liver transplantation.
“I congratulate Drs. Goss and Stribling on this landmark achievement of performing 1,000 liver transplants. One cannot underestimate the skill, dedication and selfless sacrifices that are required to save so many lives. They and their team should feel a great sense of pride on this momentous occasion,” said Dr. Busuttil, professor and executive chairman of the department of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles.
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