A Profile in Effective Collaboration:

Liver transplant surgery, once a revolutionary§procedure, has become standard medical practice since§Dr. Thomas Starzl pioneered the procedure in Denver§50 years ago. Much has changed in the world of§transplant since those early days. Advances in§technology, immunosuppression medications, and§surgical techniques have moved liver transplantation§into the mainstream of modern medicine. After a§hospital stay of 7-12 days and a period of§postoperative recovery at home, patients go back to§work, raise their children, live their lives. §This book seeks to describe the workings of one§successful liver transplant program and the§collaborative team that makes it all happen. Team§members have been interviewed and, coupled with the§author''s observations over her 14 year tenure with§the team, an overview of all facets of the liver§transplant process, from evaluation through to§recovery, is provided in terms that can be readily§understood by the general public. Finally, for those§interested in sociological theory, various pertinent§theories are presented in the context of liver§transplantation and the Liver Transplant Team at the§University of Colorado Hospital.