Transplant Anesthesia

BIDMC residents enjoy an extensive experience in transplant anesthesia. Senior residents have the opportunity to participate in both cadaveric and living donor liver transplantations. Residents at all levels of training will be involved with renal and pancreas transplantations. And now, residents have the option of participating in Heart Transplants as part of a new third year elective program.

Resident Perspective

As a senior resident, you take beeper call from home for the transplant service, usually starting at the end of the CA-2 year or beginning of the CA-3 year. Call usually averages about once per month; residents will come in to the hospital if a liver transplant is to be done. The number of cases done during a typical call can vary widely, but typically residents will have done between 1 to 5 liver transplant cases by the time they graduate. The resident on call is responsible for setting up the OR for the case and seeing the patient preop (if not already done) and will work one-on-one with the attending on call for the transplant service during the case. These cases give you experience in placing invasive lines including large trauma lines, managing hemodynamics, dealing with the physiology of large fluid shifts, and the pathophysiology of the underlying disease (e.g. end stage liver disease) as well as that associated with massive transfusion.