Bold. Forward. Unbound. in Arizona will reimagine the healthcare experience for patients and staff and expand clinical space on the Phoenix campus by nearly 60%

PHOENIX — Today, Mayo Clinic announced a nearly $1.9 billion investment in the continued transformation of its Phoenix campus as part of its Bold. Forward. strategy to Cure, Connect and Transform healthcare for the benefit of patients everywhere.

Bold. Forward. Unbound. in Arizona will enable new innovative care concepts, physical spaces and integrated technologies to create seamless care experiences for patients and a better workplace for staff.

Mayo’s largest investment in the state, Bold. Forward. Unbound. in Arizona underscores Mayo Clinic's leadership in creating a next-generation healthcare model that scales solutions for more patients when and where they need them. By harnessing the power of innovative technology and integrating physical and digital care, Mayo Clinic aims to deliver more cures, improve patient outcomes and elevate the patient experience.

"Bold. Forward. Unbound. in Arizona is the final major building block of Bold. Forward. Unbound., our complete reimagining of our physical infrastructure to enable all of Bold. Forward.," says Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., president and CEO of Mayo Clinic. "Through this work, we are physically and digitally transforming healthcare and blurring the lines between inpatient and outpatient care to support Category-of-One healthcare for our patients, a Category-of-One workplace for our staff and to serve as a blueprint for the world."

This 1.2-million-square-foot expansion includes the construction of a new procedural building, a four-floor vertical and horizontal expansion of the Mayo Clinic Specialty Building, the integration of leading-edge technology, the addition of 11 new operating rooms and two new patient units supporting 48 additional beds, and an enhanced arrival experience for patients and visitors.

The plan calls for a two-story, indoor promenade that wraps around the front of the campus, creating cohesion and convenience for patients and visitors as they move from building to building. Another prominent feature in the new design will be the development of care neighborhoods that cluster complementary clinical services for a more intuitive and connected patient experience.

Journalists: Broadcast-quality sound bites with Dr. Richard J. Gray, b-roll, photos and design renderings are available in the downloads at the end of the post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network." Name super/CG: Richard J. Gray, M.D., CEO, Mayo Clinic in Arizona

"This incredible investment will forever change the patient and staff experience in Arizona as Mayo Clinic grows and reinvents its nationally recognized clinical care, research and education," says Richard J. Gray, M.D., CEO of Mayo Clinic in Arizona. "Bold. Forward. Unbound. in Arizona will increase clinical space on the Phoenix campus by nearly 60 percent, allowing us to care for more patients than ever before. We look forward to setting new standards for patient care and medical innovation."

Bold. Forward. Unbound. in Arizona is part of Mayo Clinic’s Bold. Forward. Unbound. physical plan to achieve seamless integration of physical spaces and digital capabilities to meet patients’ unmet and evolving needs across all sites. Projects are underway in Rochester, Minnesota, and Jacksonville, Florida, and Mayo Clinic Health System recently completed projects in Mankato, Minnesota, and La Crosse, Wisconsin. Design for the Arizona expansion begins this year with completion slated for 2031. This endeavor will involve numerous architectural and general contractor firms. An initial design and construction team of McCarthy, Gensler and Arup Group has been formed, and more collaborators will be named in the coming months.

"The dramatic growth in our metropolitan area, state and region has led to an escalating need for care of patients with complex medical conditions that is difficult to accommodate with our current technology and infrastructure," according to Dr. Gray. "We continue to believe that Arizona is a great place to advance new cures, new collaborations and Mayo's distinctive model of care."

Media kit, including video, interviews, design renderings, and photos, available for download here.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:

• Marty Velasco Hames, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

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Dr. Regis Fernandes, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist, says triglycerides provide the body with energy from food. High levels can indicate signs of other conditions, like diabetes or prediabetes, that can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

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Triglycerides, the main kind of fat in your body, store extra energy from the food you eat. 

"It's an energy source. It's like a little battery used for energy. But too many triglycerides can also cause heart disease," says Dr. Fernandes.

People who are overweight, in general, have high triglyceride levels and good cholesterol levels that are low.

"They may get heart disease not because their LDL is high, they get heart disease because the HDL is low and the triglycerides is high," he says.

And this is significant for people in their 30s and 40s.

So what can you do? Reducing simple carbohydrates, such as refined sugars and flours, can help lower your weight and improve your cholesterol and triglyceride levels. And you can back that up with exercise.

"One of the best ways to lower triglyceride levels is to exercise. Also, exercise helps to lose weight. And when you lose weight, your triglycerides improve a lot," says Dr. Fernandes.

Tips to lower triglcyerides 

• Aim for 30 minutes of exercise most days.
• Cut sugar and refined carbs.
• Lose weight and focus on reducing calories.
• Choose healthier fats like olive oil and fish that are rich in omega-3.
• Limit alcohol, which can be high in calories and sugar.

Medications, including statins, may be prescribed if lifestyle modifications don't help.

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Asthma is a condition in which the airways in the lungs narrow and swell and may produce extra mucus, making breathing difficult and trigger coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. For some people, asthma is a minor nuisance. For others, it can be a major problem that interferes with daily activities and may lead to a life-threatening asthma attack. Asthma affected an estimated 262 million people in 2019 and caused 455,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

There is no cure for asthma, but its symptoms can be controlled. For patients with asthma, remission is considered the primary treatment goal, with fewer or no symptoms, and the patient requiring minimal to no medication to manage their condition.

Current asthma guidelines, including those of the European Respiratory Society and the American Thoracic Society, define asthma severity based on a patient's medication dose — without taking into consideration the healthcare burden, such as how successfully patients can control their asthma, how often they visit their doctor, visit the emergency room and receive other healthcare services. In other words, what has been missing from the research behind current guidelines is data from the perspective of the patient's quality of life.

Mayo Clinic researchers propose a new, personalized approach to asthma using patient-centered information based on healthcare burden data instead of prescribed medication, according to a study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

The Mayo-led study is the first to use two longitudinal asthma cohorts from the U.S. and 11 European countries to introduce a tool that measures both asthma control and severity and translates that data into a quantifiable exacerbation – a way to measure the risk of an asthma attack.

The investigators analyzed data from 1,037 adult participants from the Severe Asthma Research Program III in the U.S. and the European Unbiased Biomarkers for the Prediction of Respiratory Disease Outcomes to calculate a composite asthma burden score based on asthma attacks and healthcare. They also added the number of instances each patient needed a rescue bronchodilator to reflect asthma symptom burden.

The lead author, Joe Zein, M.D., Ph.D., a pulmonary medicine and asthma researcher at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, says the findings show discrepancies between the current definition of asthma severity and the research team's burden score.

"The standard definition of severe asthma is based on prescribed asthma medications," says Dr. Zein. "Our personalized healthcare burden score includes patient-centered data that reflect disease severity and accurately predicts asthma remission."

Dr. Zein says the study looks at asthma remission using two well-characterized asthma cohorts. "Asthma remission has been proposed as a hypothesis. That is something we look at, but no one was analyzing the data to test it. This is the first study to test the concept of asthma remission," he says.

If further studies support the team's method of calculating asthma burden, it ultimately could help care teams better manage cases of high-risk individuals with asthma and improve their treatment.

For a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding sources, read the manuscript.

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DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I am in my 30s and overweight, but I thought I was too young to worry about cholesterol. I just learned my cholesterol is high. I know diet and exercise are important. Do I need medication? 

ANSWER: Cholesterol is a type of fat in our blood. Our bodies need a small amount of cholesterol to build the structure of cell membranes, make certain hormones and help with metabolism, such as producing vitamin D. The catch: We don't need too much cholesterol. 

Atherosclerosis, also known as narrowing of the arteries, happens when cholesterol builds up and blocks blood flow. This buildup is called plaque, which can clog arteries and can burst, leading to a blood clot. Atherosclerosis can cause heart problems such as chest pain (angina) or heart attack. It also can lead to problems in the brain, including transient ischemic attack, stroke, peripheral artery disease in the legs or arms, and even kidney failure.

Cholesterol and triglycerides are types of lipids. They travel in our blood by attaching to proteins. Adults 20 and older should ask their healthcare team about their lipid profile and how to interpret the numbers. 

• Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol: We call LDL "bad" cholesterol. Below 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) is optimal for healthy people in the absence of coronary artery disease. If you have heart disease, your LDL should be below 70 mg/dl. Treatment decisions to reach appropriate levels need to be based on personal risk factors.

• High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol: We call HDL "good" cholesterol. It absorbs cholesterol in the blood and brings it to the liver, which flushes it from the body. For females, it should be above 50 mg/dl. For males, it should be above 40 mg/dl.

• Triglycerides: Triglycerides are a type of fat we use for energy. If you have too high of a triglycerides level, it can cause heart disease. Less than 150 mg/dl is optimal. 

• Total cholesterol: This is the sum of LDL and HDL cholesterol plus 20% of triglyceride levels. A total cholesterol level below 200 mg/dl is desirable.

Some people who are overweight may get heart disease not because their LDL is high but, rather, because their HDL is low and their triglycerides are high. That relationship can cause heart disease as much or even more than just high LDL cholesterol. These lipid abnormalities are significant for young people in their 30s or 40s who are overweight. Their triglyceride levels increase, and their HDL lowers. They're becoming prediabetic. Their LDL is staying the same, but they're still heading to heart disease. 

Treating high cholesterol depends on individual risk. The higher the risk — for example, with someone who already had a heart attack — a higher percent of reduction is needed. Medication to lower cholesterol can reduce LDL by about 60% to 65%. Lifestyle changes can reduce LDL by 10% to 15%. 

Several medications can help manage lipids. Discuss options with your healthcare team.

The body's ability to handle cholesterol is genetically determined. Genetic disorders that raise cholesterol levels are common. Familial hypercholesterolemia usually is caused by a genetic mutation preventing the body from clearing cholesterol. People with the condition are more likely to require medication to reduce their cholesterol levels. 

For people with genetic disorders that expose them to elevated cholesterol since birth, heart disease can happen at a younger age. So we start treating their high cholesterol with medication at a young age. 

Beyond medication, lifestyle modifications help manage lipids:

• Limit meat and dairy intake; they have saturated fat, which raises LDL cholesterol.
• Consume more fish, soluble fiber, fruit and vegetables. 
• Avoid diets high in carbohydrates, particularly refined carbs like sugar and white flour. They raise the blood sugar level quickly, raising triglycerides. Reducing simple refined carbohydrates helps lower triglycerides and weight because you store less fat. 
• Control your weight. It lowers your triglycerides and improves your HDL levels. 
• Exercise about 150 minutes of aerobic activity a week at a moderate intensity. Moderate intensity means you must breathe through your mouth. If you're breathing through your nose, that is low intensity. Exercise prevents cholesterol from building up, but it doesn't change LDL concentration levels. You must burn about 2,000 calories a week to lower LDL concentration. However, exercise helps lower triglyceride levels and maintain weight loss. 
• Do strength training at least twice a week. It helps your cardiovascular and muscular systems. Not everything we do to prevent heart disease is about cholesterol. 

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute recommends people get their first cholesterol screening between ages 9 and 11, and repeat it every five years. For men 45 to 65 and women 55 to 65, cholesterol screenings should occur every one to two years. Over 65? Test annually. More frequent testing may be needed for people who have or are at risk for coronary artery disease. — Regis Fernandes, M.D., Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix

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Dr. Jesse Bracamonte, a Mayo Clinic family medicine physician, says it's important to seek medical advice if the condition persists. Getting evaluated can help identify and treat any underlying health conditions.

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

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Sometimes, cold feet simply mean you need warmer socks. But if your feet are always cold, no matter the weather, it might be something more.

"Anything from circulatory problems, not having adequate blood flow, heart condition problems, immune or autoimmune conditions such as like having thyroid disease, and sometimes nerve or neuropathic problems. Having nerve disorders can cause cold feet," says Dr. Bracamonte.

Where to start? He offers a few immediate steps.

"Warm socks, lifting your feet, staying hydrated, diet, nutrition is really important. Exercise is important. And, obviously, if you smoke, don't smoke," he says.

If your feet remain to feel cold but are not cold to the touch, it might be time to see your healthcare team.

"There are certain tests that it can easily be done to ensure that you have no circulatory issues, and a few blood tests may be warranted just to make sure you have no autoimmune issues or even signs of anemia," Dr. Bracamonte says.

Related posts:

• Tapping regenerative sciences to unlock mysteries of peripheral neuropathy
• Mayo Clinic Minute: What may be causing your hands and feet to tingle

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Dr. Richard Sharpe Jr., a Mayo Clinic radiologist, says it's crucial to talk with your healthcare team to find the screening method that is right for you. An MRI is one option.

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

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"The first thing to know if you get notified is that dense breast tissue is completely normal. 

Half of all women will have dense tissue," says Dr. Sharpe.

He says dense breasts are identified through a mammogram. Additional testing is the next step.

"The most widely available supplemental screening test for women with dense tissues is probably an ultrasound of the breast or an MRI," says Dr. Sharpe. "There have been lots of studies showing that MRI is the most sensitive test for finding breast cancer."

An MRI is meant to be used along with a mammogram, not instead.

"MRI is the most sensitive test we have for finding breast cancer. It can see through density. It can find hard-to-see, small cancers," says Dr. Sharpe.

But it's not for everyone. You'll lie face down on a table and then guided into the MRI machine."Some patients that have challenges with claustrophobia might struggle to be comfortable in the smaller space of the MRI scanner," explains Dr. Sharpe.

The benefit is clear, he says.

"Women with dense tissue or high risk for breast cancer that undergo breast MRI, we are able to see cancers that would be hiding from the mammogram."

Supplemental screening options

Other supplemental screening options include molecular breast imaging (MBI), ultrasound and contrast-enhanced mammography. 

Dr. Sharpe says choosing what screening method works for you is an individual decision that should be made with your healthcare team, but he says it's important to start with your annual screening.

"The most important thing for women to know is that you should get your annual mammogram, starting at age 40. Also, if you have dense tissue, consider a supplemental screening, another imaging test looking at the breast tissues in a different way — and you should get that exam regularly as well," he says.

"The most important thing for women to know is that you should get your annual mammogram, starting at age 40. Also, if you have dense tissue, consider a supplemental screening, another imaging test looking at the breast tissues in a different way — and you should get that exam regularly as well," he says.

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Dr. Jesse Bracamonte, a Mayo Clinic family physician, explains more about the health benefits of vitamin C in this Mayo Clinic Minute.

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

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Want to keep the common cold away this winter?  Just drink more orange juice packed with vitamin C, right?

"We know that vitamin C does help your immune system function well. It helps with wound healing, helps with even collagen and joint protection, and even some tendon protection," says Dr. Bracamonte. "Overall, though, vitamin C taken in extra doses to prevent common colds hasn't proven true."

While it doesn't prevent you from getting a cold, Dr. Bracamonte says there is some limited research that additional vitamin C might speed up the recovery process slightly in some people. 

"So if you were going to have a common cold that lasts about seven days, it may cut it down about 13 hours," says Dr. Bracamonte.

He says you should be getting an adequate amount of vitamin C if you're including fruits and vegetables in your diet. But if you want to pump up the vitamin C even more, you could try a daily supplement.

"Most cases, it's 500 milligrams of vitamin C. Too much of anything is not necessarily a good thing. You just want to be mindful of how much you're taking, and you're not exceeding the recommendations of the daily allowance," says Dr. Bracamonte.

He says it's best to talk with your healthcare team before taking any new supplements.

Additional resources:

• Is too much vitamin C harmful?
• Mayo Clinic Minute: Do you need more vitamin D in the winter?

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Growing mini-organs to find new treatments for complex disease

Mayo Clinic investigators are growing three-dimensional human intestines in a dish to track disease and find new cures for complex conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease. These mini-organs function like human intestines, with the ability to process metabolites that convert food into energy on a cellular level and secrete mucus that protects against bacteria. These 3D mini-intestines in a dish, known as "organoids," provide a unique platform for studying the intricacies of the human gut.

"We think this has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach disease research. We hope to save time and resources and avoid the development of therapies that fail upon translation into patients," says Charles Howe, Ph.D., who leads the Translational Neuroimmunology Lab. "Understanding which treatments show potential for success in human organoids could dramatically accelerate the rate of new therapies for patients with unmet needs."

Brain stimulation shows promise in treating drug addiction

Physicians use neurostimulation to treat a variety of human disorders, including Parkinson's disease, tremor, obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome. A Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon and his colleagues believe one form of that treatment, called deep brain stimulation (DBS), is poised to solve one of the most significant public health challenges: drug addiction.

"Drug addiction is a huge, unmet medical need," says Kendall Lee, M.D., Ph.D., who has published nearly 100 journal articles on DBS along with his colleagues. Key to treating it, he says, is cutting off the pleasurable "high" that comes with the addiction — which DBS potentially can do.

A new class of AI aims to improve cancer research and treatments

Mayo Clinic researchers have invented a new class of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms called hypothesis-driven AI, which is a significant departure from traditional AI models that learn solely from data. The researchers note that this emerging class of AI offers an innovative way to use massive datasets to help discover the complex causes of diseases, such as cancer, and improve treatment strategies.

"This fosters a new era in designing targeted and informed AI algorithms to solve scientific questions, better understand diseases and guide individualized medicine," says co-inventor Hu Li, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic systems biology and AI researcher. "It has the potential to uncover insights missed by conventional AI."

What's lurking in your body? Mayo probes health risks of tiny plastic particles

Similar to natural elements like iron and copper, people can ingest, absorb, or even inhale microplastics and nanoplastics and their chemical additives. A landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine links microplastics and nanoplastics found in plaques of human blood vessels to a potential increased risk of heart attack, stroke or death.

"Plastics have made our lives more convenient and spurred many medical advances, but we must understand their impact on human health for the years to come," says Konstantinos Lazaridis, M.D., the Carlson and Nelson Endowed Executive Director for Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine.

Mayo Clinic researchers' new tool links Alzheimer's disease types to rate of cognitive decline

Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered a series of brain changes characterized by unique clinical features and immune cell behaviors using a new corticolimbic index tool for Alzheimer's disease, a leading cause of dementia. The tool categorizes Alzheimer's disease cases into three subtypes according to the location of brain changes and continues the team's prior work, demonstrating how these changes affect people differently. Uncovering the microscopic pathology of the disease can help researchers pinpoint biomarkers that may affect future treatments and patient care.

"Our team found striking demographic and clinical differences among sex, age at symptomatic onset and rate of cognitive decline," says Melissa Murray, Ph.D., a translational neuropathologist at Mayo Clinic.

Mayo scientists explore swabs for early endometrial, ovarian cancer detection

Early detection improves treatment outcomes for endometrial and ovarian cancers, yet far too often, women are diagnosed when in advanced stages of these diseases. Unlike many other cancers, there are no standard screenings for early detection of endometrial and ovarian cancers. Mayo Clinic researchers have uncovered specific microbial signatures linked to endometrial and ovarian cancers, and they are working toward developing innovative home swab tests for women to assess their susceptibility.

"This research not only brings us closer to understanding the microbial dynamics in cancer, but also holds the potential to transform early detection and treatment strategies to positively impact women's health globally," says Marina Walther-Antonio, Ph.D., an assistant professor of surgery leading this research.

Reversing racism's toll on heart health

People who experience chronic exposure to racism may be affected by factors such as intergenerational trauma, reduced access to healthcare, differential treatment in healthcare settings and psychological distress. These negatively affect heart health and can have a cumulative effect throughout a person's life. Researchers from Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota published a paper which provides a new framework describing how racism affects heart health among people of color in Minnesota. The researchers are focused on reversing these disparities.

"This framework will help scientists explore and measure how chronic exposure to racism, not race, influences health outcomes," says Sean Phelan, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic health services researcher. "This will help enable researchers to design interventions that address the root causes of these disparities and improve heart health for people of color everywhere."

Teamwork and research play a key role in Mayo Clinic's first larynx transplant

A team of six surgeons and 20 support staff combined expertise from the Department of Otolaryngology and the Department of Transplantation in an extraordinary 21-hour operation at Mayo Clinic. The team transplanted a donor larynx to a 59-year-old patient with cancer whose damaged larynx hampered his ability to talk, swallow and breathe. This groundbreaking surgery was only the third larynx transplant in the U.S., and the world's first known successful total larynx transplant performed in a patient with an active cancer as part of a clinical trial.

"All transplants are complex, but there are more tissue types and moving parts with laryngeal transplantation than other transplants," says David Lott, M.D., lead surgeon. "Mayo Clinic's team science approach made it possible for us to offer this type of transplant on a scale that was previously unattainable."

Space: A new frontier for exploring stem cell therapy

Two Mayo Clinic researchers say that stem cells grown in microgravity aboard the International Space Station have unique qualities that could one day help accelerate new biotherapies and heal complex disease. The research analysis by Abba Zubair, M.D., Ph.D., a laboratory medicine expert and medical director for the Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics at Mayo Clinic in Florida, and Fay Abdul Ghani, Mayo Clinic research technologist, finds microgravity can strengthen the regenerative potential of cells. 

"Studying stem cells in space has uncovered cell mechanisms that would otherwise be undetected or unknown within the presence of normal gravity," says Dr. Zubair. "That discovery indicates a broader scientific value to this research, including potential clinical applications."

Mayo Clinic’s largest-ever exome study offers blueprint for biomedical breakthroughs

Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine has achieved a significant milestone with its Tapestry study. It generated Mayo's largest-ever collection of exome data, which includes genes that code for proteins—key to understanding health and disease.  

Researchers analyzed DNA from over 100,000 participants of diverse backgrounds, providing important insights into certain genetic predispositions to support personalized and proactive medical guidance.  "The implications of the Tapestry study are monumental," says Konstantinos Lazaridis, M.D., the Carlson and Nelson Endowed Executive Director for the Center for Individualized Medicine. "As this study continues to inform and transform the practice of personalized medicine, it also sets a new standard for how large-scale medical research can be conducted in an increasingly digital and decentralized world."   

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news. 

Media contact:

• Colette Gallagher, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

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PHOENIX, Ariz. — Mayo Clinic surgeons recently performed 10 organ transplants within 24 hours, setting a record for both the hospital and the state of Arizona.

On Nov. 19, Mayo Clinic teams worked around the clock to complete seven kidney transplants and three liver transplants. Transplant center colleagues rose to the challenge with one goal in mind: Saving as many lives as possible, says Bashar Aqel, M.D., director of Mayo Clinic Transplant Center in Arizona.

"Ten people received a second chance at life in a single day," Dr. Aqel says. "This milestone would not have been possible without the generous gift of organ donation, advances in technology and the dedication of our highly specialized team."

Heading into the record-setting day, three living-donor kidney transplants were already scheduled. But by evening, the team realized the magnitude of the day ahead of them as precious organs continued to become available. Organ perfusion devices proved critical, enabling the livers and some of the kidneys to be kept viable outside the donor's body for a longer period of time prior to transplant. The team also had to overcome logistical hurdles, ensuring enough operating room space was available to perform all the surgeries.

"Every day, an estimated 17 people die waiting for an organ transplant," Dr. Aqel says. "We are doing what we can to try to reverse that trend with innovation and organ perfusion to save more lives."

John Churan is among the 10 patients celebrating a second chance — one he never thought he would get. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma 16 years ago, and when his kidney began to fail in 2020, his diagnosis appeared grim. But thanks to a stem cell treatment at Mayo Clinic, he went into full remission from the cancer, and he was eligible for a kidney transplant. His wife of 36 years, Julia Churan, stepped forward to donate her kidney and was a match.

"I would not be here without Mayo Clinic," John Churan says. "I am so grateful for the care I have received and the incredible gift my wife has given me."

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:

• Heather Carlson Kehren, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

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On Dec. 18, 2023, the world went silent for Thomas Campbell. The active and vibrant 70-year-old lost his hearing in his left ear when he was 33 years old. And without much warning, on that December day, his hearing went out in his right ear, leaving him completely unable to hear.

When other medical centers couldn't help, Thomas turned to Mayo Clinic for answers. Dr. Nicholas Deep, a Mayo Clinic otolaryngologist, had a plan. 

Watch: Hope, healing, hearing: How a cochlear implant helps a man hear again

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (2:40) is in the downloads at the end of this post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network." Read the script.

In an instant, Thomas feared he would never hear the laughter of his grandkids again.

"I started getting this weird, you know, weird kind of weird noises, and hearing just subsided. And then, they just went out," says Thomas.

Thomas lost hearing in his left ear nearly 40 years ago, likely from exposure to loud industrial noises. Now, suddenly, the hearing in his right ear was gone.

"All kinds of things are just flashing through your mind — you know, got grandkids, can't hear anything. How am I going to get around? How am I going to communicate? You know, it's just, it's just … it's pretty, uh, pretty emotional," he shares.

After seeing multiple doctors who couldn't help, Thomas turned to Mayo Clinic and Dr. Deep.

"This is a person who was getting by with one ear — very busy running a business — that all of a sudden was sidelined by complete, profound, bilateral hearing loss. We treat hearing loss, sudden hearing loss, as an ENT, as an emergency. And so, of course, we got him right in. We got him a hearing test, confirmed the hearing loss and started working to rehabilitate his right ear," Dr. Deep says.

But rehabilitating that ear would take time. And Dr. Deep had another idea.

"His left ear has been deaf for over 35 years, and so I brought up the conversation of a cochlear implant," says Dr. Deep. "Those nerve synapses and connections between that ear and the brain, although they haven't been stimulated in many years, they can be revived, and so I felt confident that we could certainly get him back online." 

The surgery itself was less than an hour.

"The cochlear implant has two components: an internal component that we place the time of surgery, and the external component, which is the microphone. That's sort of like a hearing aid, but it sticks on by a magnet," Dr. Deep says.

Implanting the cochlear device was one step. Next was programming the device.

"An audiologist's job is to make the implant work. So we are actually determining what sound is sent through the implant to get the patient hearing optimally," shares Dr. Courtney Kolberg, a Mayo Clinic audiologist who worked with Thomas to program the implant.

She says success for patients is about collaboration.

"The patient journey is really a journey that we take together," Dr. Kolberg says.

And for Thomas, it's been quite the journey.

"I can't say enough about it — about the implant, the doctor — about Mayo Clinic. That's just been unbelievable. Hearing grandkids again … pretty incredible," says Thomas.

Thomas continues to work with Dr. Deep and team to help restore his full hearing. He will have surgery soon to have a second cochlear device implanted.

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