• Introduction
• A Timeline of Kidney Transplantation
• Patient Identified
  • In Their Own Words
• Research and Preparation
  • In Their Own Words
• The Operation
  • In Their Own Words
• Post-Operative
  • In Their Own Words
• Media Coverage
  • In Their Own Words
• Post-Script
• Development of the MUSC Transplant Program
• Biographies
• Glossary of Medical and Scientific Terms
• References
• For More Information
• Acknowledgements

Post-Operative

Dr. Arthur V. Williams was Mr. Ashley’s doctor before, during, and after the transplant. The patient’s survival depended on overcoming the rejection of the transplanted organ. Dr. Williams monitored Mr. Ashley after the operation for any signs of rejection of the kidney as well as for post-operative complications, such as infection.

Immediately after the transplant, Dr. Williams and other physicians performed daily lymphocyte counts to track the patient’s body’s ability to mount an assault on the new kidney. They administered his own anti-lymphocyte serum made in rabbit and horse hosts to help prevent rejection. And, in early January, Mr. Ashley was put on a conventional regimen of steroids and azathioprine.

Eight days after the operation, Mr. Ashley developed a urinary tract infection that subsided without the use of antibiotics after three days. This was the only post-operative complication.

When William Ashley walked out of the Medical College Hospital three weeks after his December 3rd transplant, he was reported to be in excellent condition. The operation had been a success.

Velma Jean Madden was discharged from Medical College Hospital on Wednesday, December 11, 1968.