Surgeons in California perform first ever successful bladder transplant

During the eight-hour procedure, surgeons transplanted both a bladder and kidney into the patient and then connected the two organs. Photograph: Nick Carranza/UCLA Health

Surgeons in California have performed the first ever successful bladder transplant, aiding a patient who previously had his bladder and both kidneys removed as a result of cancer treatment and end-stage kidney disease.

The treatment allowed the patient, 41-year-old father of four Oscar Larrainzar, to go off dialysis – although the surgery comes with considerable short- and long-term risks and unknowns.