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t m c » p u l s e | j u ly 2 0 1 5 30 Transplanting History A first-of-its-kind surgery performed by Houston Methodist and MD Anderson relieves a cancer survivor of a unique and debilitating condition B y S h e a C o n n e l l y You saw something that was grey and lifeless come back to life in front of your eyes and turn into something pink, healthy and vibrant. That was miraculous and exciting. — MICHAEL KLEBUC, M.D. Plastic Surgeon at Houston Methodist Hospital MD Anderson's Jesse Selber, M.D., (left) and Houston Methodist's Michael Klebuc, M.D., operate on Jim Boysen's skull and scalp. (Credit: Houston Methodist Hospital) F our years ago, a painful Catch-22 situation brought Jim Boysen to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. A deep scalp wound, the direct result of cancer treatment, was preventing him from getting kidney and pancreas transplants he desper- ately needed. At the same time, scalp reconstruction was stymied by his damaged kidney and pancreas. "I was between a rock and a hard place," said Boysen. Little did he know that first visit set the stage for a trailblazing collabora- tion between MD Anderson, Houston Methodist Hospital and a handful of other Texas Medical Center institutions that would make medical history. The now 55-year-old software devel- oper from Austin, Texas, has faced more health trials than many do in a lifetime. Diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at age 5, Boysen received kidney and pan- creas transplants in 1992. In 2006, he was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, a rare cancer of the smooth muscle, on his scalp. Though the cancer was successfully treated with chemotherapy and radiation, he was left with a wound so deep on the top of his head that it reached all the way through his scalp and skull to his brain. On August 4, 2011, the wound brought Boysen to Jesse Selber, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Plastic Surgery at MD Anderson. A scalp wound was not unusual to Selber, a microvascular reconstructive surgeon who has performed other scalp-related proce- dures. But the severity of the damage, in addition to the complicating factor of the failing organs, presented a unique challenge. "For fear of an infection after trans- plantation, this wound was preventing him from getting his vital organs," said Selber. "So that day I thought, 'Well,