Lung transplant

Alternative Names: Solid organ transplant - lung

Lung transplant is surgery to replace one or both diseased lungs with healthy lungs from a human donor.

Description of Procedure

The new lung or lungs are usually donated by someone under age 65 who is brain-dead but is still on life-support. The donor tissue must be matched as closely as possible to your tissue type to reduce the odds that your body will reject the transplanted lung.

Lungs can also be given by living donors. Two or more people are needed. Each person donates a segment (lobe) of their lung to form an entire lung for the person who is receiving it.

During lung transplant surgery, you are asleep and pain-free (under general anesthesia). A surgical cut is made in the chest. Lung transplant surgery is done with the use of a heart-lung machine, which does the work of your heart while your heart is stopped for the surgery.

• For single lung transplants, the cut is made on the side of your chest where the lung will be transplanted. The operation takes 4 - 8 hours. In most cases, the lung with the worst function is removed.
• For double lung transplants, the cut is made below the breast and reaches to both sides of the chest. Surgery takes 6 - 12 hours. Tubes are used to send blood to a heart-lung bypass machine to provide oxygen and move blood through the body during the surgery.

After the cut is made, the major steps during lung transplant surgery include:

• One or both of your lungs are removed. For patients who are having a double lung transplant, most or all of the steps from the first transplant are completed before the second transplant is done.
• The main blood vessels and airway of the new lung are sewn to your blood vessels and airway. The donor lobe or lung is stitched (sutured) into place. Chest tubes are inserted to drain air, fluid, and blood out of the chest for several days to allow the lungs to fully re-expand.

Sometimes heart and lung transplants are done at the same time (heart-lung transplant) if the heart is also diseased.

Risks of Lung transplant

Risks from any anesthesia are:

• Breathing problems
• Reactions to the medications

Risks from any surgery are:

• Bleeding
• Infection

Other risks of transplant include:

• Blood clots (deep venous thrombosis)
• Diabetes, bone thinning, or high cholesterol levels from the medications given after a transplant
• Increased risk for infections due to anti-rejection (immunosuppression) medications
• Damage to your kidneys, liver, or other organs from anti-rejection medications
• Future risk of certain cancers

Risks of lung transplant include:

• Problems at the place where the new blood vessels and airways were attached
• Rejection of the new lung, which may happen right away, within the first 4 to 6 weeks, or over time

Lung transplant - series

Review Date: 5/4/2011
Reviewed By: Shabir Bhimji, MD, PhD, Specializing in General Surgery, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Midland, TX. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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