Meet Sezar, our first pediatric heart transplant recipient
Twelve-year-old Sezar is obsessed with soccer, but doctors at American Family Children’s Hospital quickly realized that the same heart that beat for soccer was also beating too hard for his adolescent body. On August 22, 2023, Sezar became the first patient to receive a transplant through the pediatric heart transplant program at the UW Health Transplant Center. Meet Sezar and hear his father describe his journey.
The program launched in March 2023 after years of preparation and planning. It’s an incredible achievement made possible because of an exceptional care team—and extraordinary support from philanthropic donors who invested in our vision to expand the pediatric transplant program.
Philanthropy allowed us to recruit new members to the team, provide staff with additional training, purchase equipment and improve our physical space so the team was fully prepared when Sezar arrived. And today, the UW Health Transplant Center is one of just six centers in the country, and the only center in Wisconsin, certified and actively transplanting five organs – heart, kidneys, liver, lungs and pancreas for adults and children.
Sezar’s journey to a heart transplant began last July with stomach pain that wouldn’t go away. Emergency physicians in Rockford determined that Sezar was experiencing heart failure and transferred him immediately to American Family Children’s Hospital. The pediatric cardiology team in Madison identified two causes of his heart failure: an underlying genetic condition and a virus.
“Neither of Sezar’s ventricles were pumping well, and he needed IV medication to support his heart function,” said Dr. Sonya Kirmani, medical director of the UW Health Kids Heart Transplant Program.
Just five days later, Dr. Joshua Hermsen, surgical director of the UW Health Kids Heart Transplant Program, implanted a biventricular assist device to take over for the heart to pump blood. But while the function on the right side of Sezar’s heart recovered, the left side of his heart required more permanent support, so while he waited for a donor heart, he received a Berlin heart ventricular assist device, a blood pump that sits outside of the body. This surgery was the first of its kind at American Family Children’s Hospital.
Sezar and his father, Sam, stayed at the hospital until a donor was found. His mother returned home to Rockford to care for their two younger children.
On August 21, Sam learned his son would receive a new heart the following day. He focused on keeping Sezar calm until the moment he entered the operating room the next morning, sending him off with a kiss on the forehead.
“I felt so many emotions, but I couldn’t show any of them to Sezar,” he said. “Even though I was scared, I had to keep smiling so he wouldn’t feel scared.”
Dr. Hermsen led the 10-hour transplant procedure after traveling to recover the donated heart and bring it back to Madison. Sam finally allowed himself to cry as he watched Sezar being wheeled into his room in the ICU following the operation. “I knew he was one step closer to coming home to us,” Sam said.
On the September day Sezar went home, his care team organized a parade with bubbles and handmade signs. An even larger crowd of his mother and younger siblings, other family and friends waited for him in Rockford. The family hosted a jubilant party for his 12th birthday on December 25th and Sezar returned to school in person at the start of the new year. Sam and Sezar travel to Madison for monthly appointments to monitor his heart function and screen for possible rejection.
“This changed the way I think about my whole life. Everything has changed for our entire family. I am very thankful we were able to come here. These are the best doctors, the best nurses, the best interpreters; they were like a family and made him feel like he wasn’t at the hospital,” shared Sam.
“Sezar is thriving outside the hospital and that is the most you can hope for,” Dr. Kirmani reflected. “I remember being so thrilled to watch him walk out of the unit and go home, knowing we did this well because we did this as a team, and we are prepared to do it again for other families.”
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