Shaf Keshavjee

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Dr.

Shaf Keshavjee
Dr Shaf and Katie.jpg
Keshavjee (right), with Katie Sutherland, who received a double lung transplant
Born
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Education University of Toronto (MD),
Harvard University (fellowship in airway surgery),
University of London (fellowship in heart-lung transplant)
Relatives Mohamed Keshavjee
Medical career
ProfessionThoracic and transplant surgeon
ResearchLung injury related to lung transplantation, molecular diagnostics for transplantation, gene therapy in lung transplantation

Shaf Keshavjee is a Canadian surgeon and the current Surgeon-in-Chief at University Health Network in Toronto, the Director of the Toronto Lung Transplant Program, as well as a clinical scientist and professor with the University of Toronto. [1]

Contents

His clinical practice in Thoracic Surgery and Transplant Surgery is based at the Toronto General Hospital, where he also leads a research team in lung transplantation studies. Dr. Keshavjee gained international recognition for the development of his lung preservation solution for donor lungs en route to transplantation; this solution is now the standard technique utilized by transplantation programs around the world. Further, he broke new ground with his research to the recondition and repair of injured human donor lungs, making them suitable for patient transplantation, using the Toronto XVIVO Lung Perfusion System. His work has allowed for an increase in the number of available donor lungs. [2]

Education and training

In 1985, Keshavjee completed his medical degree at the University of Toronto. [3] He did a comprehensive surgical internship at the Mount Sinai Hospital in 1986. His Research Fellowship and Surgical Scientist Program in the Division of Thoracic Surgery were done at the University of Toronto and Toronto General Hospital in 1989. That same year he received his MSc in the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto.

A few years later in 1993, Keshavjee became a Fellow in Thoracic Surgery at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York City. In 2012, he went to Harvard University, Harvard Kennedy School, and Cambridge University to obtain a degree in continuing education for Leadership for the 21st Century: Chaos, Conflict and Courage. In 1994, he joined the faculty at the University of Toronto. [3]

Current appointments

Awards and recognition

Boards and societies

Dr. Keshavjee has served on the board of directors of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, the Canadian Society of Transplantation, and on the Governing Council of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery. [4]

Awards

Over the course of his career, he has received many awards for his medical contributions. These have included:

The Lister Prize in Surgery is the highest award for research achievement that one can obtain within the University of Toronto's Department of Surgery.

On February 6, 2013, Dr. Keshavjee was inducted into the Order of Ontario. He has also received two Queen's Jubilee medals in recognition for his work. [9] [10]

On December 26, 2014, Dr. Keshavjee was made an officer of the Order of Canada. [11]

TED MED

At TED MED 2010, Dr. Keshavjee gave a talk entitled ‘Can a human lung breathe outside the body in which he addressed the process of repairing organs outside the human body. [12]

Achievements

At his Thoracic Surgery Research Laboratory, Dr. Kehavjee's research interests include lung transplantation, lung injury, and lung preservation. His current studies examine molecular diagnostics and gene therapy strategies for engineering organs for lung transplantation. The Lab's work explores the underlying mechanisms of ischemia-reperfusion injury and bronchiolitis obliterans – two areas that limit successful lung transplantation – and develops gene therapy strategies for either preventing or reversing them. Several areas within ischemia-reperfusion injury are examined, including the role of complement and cytokine-related lung injury and its relation to reperfusion. The work is done on cell culture models, rat single lung transplant models, and pig single lung transplant models. [13]

Lung preservation

Keshavjee and his research team have developed a technique of lung preservation that can improve lung function after its transplantation. The solution is made from low-potassium dextran and is used in the Ex Vivo.

The LPD solution is applied in both the Toronto lung transplant program and in clinical programs around the world. [14]

Gene therapy in lung transplantation

Keshavjee's research team focuses its main efforts on the role of gene therapy in lung transplantation. They are currently developing techniques for genetically modifying the donor lung so it can withstand stress during the transplant process. Ultimately, these techniques would be used to address both ischemia-reperfusion injury and obliterative bronchiolitis.

Keshavjee's work has demonstrated that immunosuppression related to transplantation leads to an altered expression of the transgene, and immunosuppression will lead to the prolonged-expression of the transgene. To this effect, he and his team have proved that gene therapy will help recipients recover from lung transplantation surgery without a significant immune system response.

When addressing obliterative bronchiolitis in a rat tracheal transplant model of fibrous airway obliteration related to transplantation, Dr. Keshavjee's research showed that the adenoviral IL-10 gene transfection was able to prevent the development of bronchiolitis obliterans. This was the first time that a gene therapy strategy was able to treat this condition; a significant breakthrough as this condition affects over 50% of lung transplant recipients. The team is currently studying the effect of the IL-10 transfection on ischemia-reperfusion therapy, as well as mechanisms of cell death and the genes controlling the process. [15]

Toronto Lung Transplant Program

Keshavjee currently serves as the Director of the Toronto Lung Transplant Program, a University of Toronto program that spans across UHN and the Hospital for Sick Children. It began in 1983, and expanded to pediatric lung transplantation surgeries in 1995. Located in the Toronto General Hospital, it has gained international recognition for performing several remarkable firsts, including: First successful single-lung transplant, first successful double lung transplant, first pediatric lung transplant, first pediatric lung transplant with mismatched blood types, first to use an EXVIVO outside of the body, and the first to use the Novalung ventilator to provide more time for those awaiting transplantation. [16] The TLTP uses 40% of the donated lungs it receives, compared to 15% of donated lungs used elsewhere in the world.

As a result of Keshavjee's breakthroughs, there have been steady increases in the number of transplants and the survival rate. While the one-year survival rate for lung transplant recipients is 85% and almost 30% for over 10 years, the TLTP has 22 patients who have survived 20 or more years after receiving their donor lungs. [17]

A gene-therapy trial will begin next year. [18]

Toronto Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion System (EVLP)

Keshavjee was internationally recognized for his leadership in the development of the Toronto Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion System, which treats and improves high-risk donor lungs outside of a human body so that they can be safely used for transplantation.

Donor lungs are placed in ice, with one tube attached to the pulmonary artery and another sewn to a vein used for training blood out of the lung. The lung is then moved onto a steel platform atop the device and hooked to a circuit with a ventilator and heart-lung mimicking machine that pumps the preservation solution into them. As they are brought up to body temperature, they are healed with an anti-inflammatory solution (developed by Dr. Keshavjee). Eventually, the lungs begin to inflate and deflate as they breathe on their own. For several hours, the lungs are monitored for functionality with blood gases, x-rays, bronchoscopies, resistance to the flow of fluid, and whether they are becoming less stiff. If the tests are deemed successful for function, they may go ahead and perform the transplantation. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transplant rejection</span> Rejection of transplanted tissue by the recipients immune system

Transplant rejection occurs when transplanted tissue is rejected by the recipient's immune system, which destroys the transplanted tissue. Transplant rejection can be lessened by determining the molecular similitude between donor and recipient and by use of immunosuppressant drugs after transplant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardiothoracic surgery</span> Medical specialty involved in surgical treatment of organs inside the thorax

Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of organs inside the thoracic cavity — generally treatment of conditions of the heart, lungs, and other pleural or mediastinal structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reperfusion injury</span> Tissue damage after return of blood supply following ischemia or hypoxia

Reperfusion injury, sometimes called ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) or reoxygenation injury, is the tissue damage caused when blood supply returns to tissue after a period of ischemia or lack of oxygen. The absence of oxygen and nutrients from blood during the ischemic period creates a condition in which the restoration of circulation results in inflammation and oxidative damage through the induction of oxidative stress rather than restoration of normal function.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine</span> Medical school of the University of Toronto

The Temerty Faculty of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Toronto. Founded in 1843, the faculty is based in Downtown Toronto and is one of Canada's oldest institutions of medical studies, being known for the discovery of insulin, stem cells and the site of the first single and double lung transplants in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto General Hospital</span> Hospital in Toronto, Ontario

The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue's Hospital Row; it is directly north of The Hospital for Sick Children, across Gerrard Street West, and east of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Mount Sinai Hospital. The hospital serves as a teaching hospital for the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. In 2019, the hospital was ranked first for research in Canada by Research Infosource for the ninth consecutive year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lung transplantation</span> Surgical procedure in which a patients diseased lungs are partially or totally replaced

Lung transplantation, or pulmonary transplantation, is a surgical procedure in which one or both lungs are replaced by lungs from a donor. Donor lungs can be retrieved from a living or deceased donor. A living donor can only donate one lung lobe. With some lung diseases, a recipient may only need to receive a single lung. With other lung diseases such as cystic fibrosis, it is imperative that a recipient receive two lungs. While lung transplants carry certain associated risks, they can also extend life expectancy and enhance the quality of life for those with end stage pulmonary disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Michener Institute</span>

The Michener Institute of Education at UHN, or simply Michener, is a specialist post-secondary institution in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Based in Downtown Toronto and governed by the University Health Network (UHN), Canada's largest funded health care organization, Michener was founded by Diana Michener Schatz as the Toronto Institute of Medical Technology in 1958 with a pilot program in Medical Laboratory Technology at the Toronto General Hospital. After years of expansion through more programs offered, the institute was relocated to its present campus in 1972 at 222 St. Patrick Street and was renamed "The Michener Institute" after Schatz's father, Roland Michener in 1990. The institute is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health.

Hepatectomy is the surgical resection of the liver. While the term is often employed for the removal of the liver from a liver transplant donor, this article will focus on partial resections of hepatic tissue and hepatoportoenterostomy.

Joshua R. Sonett is the Chief of General Thoracic Surgery, Surgical Director of Price Family Center for Comprehensive Chest Care, and an Attending Surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. He is also a Professor of Clinical Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate, or Custodiol HTK solution, is a high-flow, low-potassium preservation solution used for organ transplantation. The solution was initially developed by Hans-Jürgen Bretschneider.

ABO-incompatible (ABOi) transplantation is a method of allocation in organ transplantation that permits more efficient use of available organs regardless of ABO blood type, which would otherwise be unavailable due to hyperacute rejection. Primarily in use in infants and young toddlers, research is ongoing to allow for increased use of this capability in adult transplants. Normal ABO-compatibility rules may be observed for all recipients. This means that anyone may receive a transplant of a type-O organ, and consequently, type-O recipients are one of the biggest beneficiaries of ABO-incompatible transplants. While focus has been on infant heart transplants, the principles generally apply to other forms of solid organ transplantation.

David John Sugarbaker was an American physician who was chief of the division of general thoracic surgery and the director of the Baylor College of Medicine Lung Institute at CHI St. Luke's Health–Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center in Houston, Texas. He was an internationally recognized thoracic surgeon specializing in the treatment of mesothelioma, the surgical management of malignant pleural mesothelioma, and treatment of complex thoracic cancers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans-Joachim Schäfers</span> German surgeon, as well as cardiac, thoracic, and vascular surgeon

Hans-Joachim Schäfers is a German surgeon, as well as cardiac, thoracic, and vascular surgeon and university professor. He is director of the department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the Saarland University Medical Center in Homburg/Saar, Germany. He is known for his activities in aortic valve repair, aortic surgery, and pulmonary endarterectomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart W. Jamieson</span> British surgeon

Stuart William Jamieson is a British cardiothoracic surgeon, specialising in pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE), a surgical procedure performed to remove organized clotted blood (thrombus) from pulmonary arteries in people with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).

Jack Greene Copeland is an American cardiothoracic surgeon, who has established procedures in heart transplantation including repeat heart transplantation, the implantation of total artificial hearts (TAH) to bridge the time to heart transplant, innovations in left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) and the technique of "piggybacking" a second heart in a person, while leaving them the original.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruno Reichart</span> German cardiothoracic surgeon

Bruno Reichart is a retired German cardiothoracic surgeon who performed Germany's first successful heart transplant in 1981 and its first combined heart–lung transplant in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael L. Hess</span>

Michael L. Hess was an American professor of cardiology and physiology at the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) who was instrumental in founding the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT), of which he served as its first president.

Isolated organ perfusion technique is employed to precipitate an organ's perfusion and circulation that are independent/isolated from the body's systemic circulation for various purposes such as organ-localized chemotherapy, organ-targeted delivery of drug, gene or anything else, organ transplantation, and organ injury recovery. The technique has been widely studied in animal and human for decades. Before the implementation, the perfusion system will be selected and the process can be similar to organ bath. Isolated organ perfusion technique, nevertheless, is averagely conducted in vivo without leaving the organ alone as a whole out of the body.

Transplant engineering is a variant of genetic organ engineering which comprises allograft, autograft and xenograft engineering. In allograft engineering the graft is substantially modified by altering its genetic composition. The genetic modification can be permanent or transient. The aim of modifying the allograft is usually the mitigation of immunological graft rejection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yolonda L. Colson</span> Thoracic Surgeon

Yolonda Lorig Colson is an American thoracic surgeon, working in Boston, who is the first female president of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS). She assumed her current role as the 103rd president of the AATS on May 26, 2022, succeeding Shaf Keshavjee, MD. Colson is the Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, Hermes C. Grillo Professor in Thoracic Surgery, and Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Colson is an Officer and Exam Chair for the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. She is also a collaborator of the Grinstaff Group.

References

  1. "Shaf Keshavjee | UHN Research". www.uhnresearch.ca.
  2. "Toronto lung transplant surgeon leading innovations to boost donor organ pool". thestar.com. March 11, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Shaf Keshavjee" . Retrieved 2016-07-25.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Keshavjee, S."
  5. "Faculty Show All".
  6. "EX-VIVO LUNG TRANSPLANTATION: A MODEL FOR MEDICAL INNOVATION".
  7. "Lung Transplant Clinic".
  8. "Directory". SickKids.
  9. Ontario, Government of. "Order of Ontario". www.citizenship.gov.on.ca.
  10. "Order of Ontario: Dr. Shaf Keshavjee | L'Ordre de l'Ontario: Dr. Shaf Keshavjee" via www.youtube.com.
  11. "Dr. Shaf Keshavjee named an Officer of the Order of Canada". www.uhn.ca.
  12. "Shaf Keshavjee". TEDMED.
  13. "Shaf Keshavjee Research Interests".
  14. "LOW-POTASSIUM DEXTRAN PRESERVATION SOLUTION IMPROVES LUNG FUNCTION AFTERHUMAN LUNG TRANSPLANTATION".
  15. "Gene therapy repairs injured human donor lungs for the first time". www.uhn.ca.
  16. "ABOUT THE LUNG TRANSPLANT CLINIC".
  17. Andre Picard (November 5, 2013). "Lung transplant 30 years ago opened a door that saved thousands of lives". Globe and Mail.
  18. Darren Gluckman (2012). "The Doctor Is In" (PDF).
  19. "Toronto Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion System". YouTube . April 12, 2011.