Groundbreaking New Lung Transplant Technique
After seven unsuccessful attempts to undergo a routine double-lung transplant, Nancy Block became in October the second patient so far at New York-Presbyterian Hospital to successfully undergo a revolutionary experimental approach to lung transplantation that could offer more viable lungs to more patients like Block who are on the recipient wait list. The technique, called “ex vivo” — or, outside the body — involves taking the lungs that were removed from the donor and placing them in a transparent case, where they are hooked up to a pump and ventilator. The lungs are closely monitored for up to four hours as they are nourished with nutrients and antibiotics and pumped with oxygen. In the traditional lung-transplant approach, the lungs are assessed in the deceased donor’s body before being removed. If the lung is considered viable, it is stored in cold temperatures within a short window of time before the transplant. But the new preservation technique “revives” the lungs in a transparent box by gradually warming the lungs to normal body temperature, and the organ is reinstated in an environment as if it is in the body. The lungs are assessed and reconditioned in the operating room until the final minute before being placed in the recipient’s body.(ABCNews.com)
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