Earlier this year, Apple shareholders were angered to find out two months after the fact, the story of Jobs’ liver transplant was leaked to The Wall Street Journal. Jobs chose Dr. James Eason, a neuroendocrine and liver transplant specialist. Bloomberg reports 91 percent of Eason’s patients have healthy livers one year after surgery, compared with a national average of 87 percent. Eason would not comment on Jobs’ case except to say Steve Jobs is a “genuinely nice person.” Data suggests that neuroendocrine tumor patients with characteristics similar to those of Jobs fare particularly well after a liver transplant, said USC surgeon Linda Sher. Eason, 48, is head of transplantation at Methodist University Hospital and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where 120 liver transplants were performed in 2008, a substantial increase from 35 in 2005.
Steve Jobs Chooses Surgeon From Tennessee
Steve Jobs discloses who will conduct his liver surgery.
August 21, 2009