A lung transplant is an effective treatment for a disease that has destroyed most of the lung's function.... For people with severe lung disease, a transplant can bring easier breathing and enable life for many years.... However, lung transplant surgery carries significant risks and common complications.

Who needs a lung transplant?

Most people with severe end-stage lung disease can be considered candidates for a lung transplant.. This procedure should be considered for people who are likely to die without surgery and have no other options..

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (emphysema and chronic bronchitis)...
• Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
• Cystic fibrosis
• Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension

In people with these diseases, the reasons for lung transplantation can be different. For example, in emphysema, lung tissue is destroyed by smoking. In idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, scar tissue replaces a healthy lung.

Lung transplant centers may be hesitant to consider people over 60 or 65 for a lung transplant.

Read more: Everything you need to know about tuberculosis

Preparing for a lung transplant

The lung transplant evaluation process is usually long and complicated....First, the doctor refers the patient to a regional transplant center....At the transplant center, doctors, psychologists, social workers, and other staff meet with the person to gather information....This process may take place over several visits over weeks or months.

In addition to the patient's pulmonary condition, this team also considers family and social support, financial status, mental structure and other medical conditions.. During the lung transplant evaluation, repeated tests are performed that may include:

• Pulmonary function tests
Cardiac stress test
• Coronary artery catheterization
• Bone mineral density test
• Chestography
• CT scan of the chest
• Blood tests to evaluate kidney and liver function and complete blood cell count (CBC)
• Blood type and blood antibodies, to match potential donors

If the following conditions exist, doctors usually do not recommend a lung transplant: heart, liver or kidney disease... alcohol or drug abuse; persistent infections; or cancer (of course, if there is no significant heart disease, some patients may be considered for a heart and lung transplant)....Also, anyone who continues to smoke cannot have a lung transplant.

Being on the lung transplant list

After tests and paperwork are completed and a patient is determined to be a good candidate for a lung transplant, they are placed on regional and national transplant lists. Annie is a complex scoring calculation that tries to predict two things:

• Approximate length of time a patient can live without a lung transplant
• The length of time a patient is expected to live after a lung transplant

People with higher scores are given priority if there are donated lungs.

Learn more: Organ donation

What process happens during lung transplant surgery

When compatible donor lungs become available, the transplant candidate is immediately called to the transplant center to prepare for surgery.. Members of the surgical team examine the deceased donor lungs to ensure their suitability..

Surgeons may transplant one or two lungs....Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages, and the choice depends on the recipient's lung disease and other factors.

During a lung transplant, the surgeon makes a large incision in the chest.. This incision is different depending on the type of lung transplant:

• An incision on only one side of the chest (for a lung transplant)
• One incision across the front of the chest, or one incision on both sides (for a double lung transplant)

During the surgery, complete anesthesia is maintained by inducing general anesthesia... In some people undergoing lung transplantation, it is necessary to perform cardiopulmonary bypass... In bypass, the blood is pumped by the pump instead of the heart and lungs and is enriched with oxygen.

After lung transplant operation

The time it takes to fully recover from a lung transplant varies greatly from person to person....some people may be discharged from the hospital within a week....however, it is not uncommon to stay in the hospital for two weeks or more after lung transplant surgery.

The weeks after a lung transplant are full of activities to ensure long-term effectiveness. These include:

• Physiotherapy and regular rehabilitation
• Educational sessions to learn a complex new medication regimen for the rest of your life
• Frequent visits to the doctor and lung specialist
• Regular lung function tests, chest X-rays, blood tests, and procedures such as bronchoscopy

Many transplant centers offer temporary accommodation nearby to patients and their families to facilitate frequent visits.

Lung transplant prognosis

A lung transplant can eliminate breathing problems and enable an active lifestyle that can last for years... For many people, a lung transplant is nothing short of life-saving.

After recovering from lung transplant surgery, more than 80% of people reported no limitations in their physical activity. Among those who survived five years or more, up to 40% continued to work at least part-time.

However, terminal complications after lung transplantation are inevitable... Rejection of transplanted lungs by the immune system can be reduced, but not completely stopped.. Also, strong immunosuppressive drugs have inevitable side effects such as diabetes, kidney damage, and vulnerability to infection.

For these reasons, long-term survival after lung transplantation is not as promising as other organ transplants such as kidney or liver.

Still, more than 80 percent of people survive at least one year after a lung transplant.... 55 to 70 percent of people who receive a lung transplant are alive after three years.... Age at the time of transplantation is the most important factor affecting lung transplant survival.

Use GCORP LLC for a consultation with a pulmonologist.