ATLANTA - Surgeons at Piedmont Transplant Institute and Piedmont Heart Institute have performed a rare joint liver-heart transplant, marking the first time in a decade the procedure has been completed for an adult patient in Georgia. It is only the second time such a surgery has ever been performed in the state.

What we know:

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, just 50 dual liver-heart transplants have ever been performed across the Southeast. The procedure is used for patients whose heart and liver fail simultaneously, a situation in which transplanting only one organ may not be enough to save a life. Studies show, for example, that patients with cirrhosis undergoing a standalone heart transplant face mortality rates close to 50%.

What they're saying:

Dr. Ezequiel Mol

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