Lung Transplant

A lung transplant is a surgical procedure to replace a diseased or failing lung with a healthy lung, usually from a deceased donor. A lung transplant is reserved for people who have tried other medications or treatments, but their conditions haven’t sufficiently improved.

While a lung transplant is a major operation that can involve many complications, it can greatly improve your health and quality of life.

Causes of Lung Failure

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema
• Scarring of the lungs (pulmonary fibrosis)
• High blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension)
• Cystic fibrosis

Complications
Major risks of lung transplant include rejection and infection.

1. Risk of rejection : Your immune system defends your body against foreign substances. Even with the best possible match between you and the donor, your immune system will try to attack and reject your new lung or lungs. The risk of rejection is highest soon after the lung transplant and is reduced over time.
2. Anti Rejection Drugs : Your drug regimen after transplant will include medications to suppress your immune system (immunosuppressant medications) in an effort to prevent organ rejection. You’ll likely take these anti-rejection drugs for the rest of your life. These drugs might have side effects such as weight gain, facial hair, stomach problems, diabetes, kidney damage, osteoporosis, cancer, high blood pressure (hypertension).

How it Works?
When a donor organ becomes available, the donor-recipient matching system finds an appropriate match based on specific criteria, including:

• Blood type
• Size of organ compared with chest cavity
• Geographic distance between donor organ and transplant recipient
• Severity of the recipient’s lung disease
• Recipient’s overall health
• Likelihood that the transplant will be successful

You might not be an ideal candidate for lung transplant if you :

• have an active infection
• have a recent personal medical history of cancer
• have serious diseases such as kidney, liver or heart diseases
• are unwilling or unable to make lifestyle changes necessary to keep your donor lung healthy, such as not drinking alcohol or not smoking

Lung Transplant Procedure
The procedure will be conducted with general anaesthesia, so you will be unaware and won’t feel any pain. You’ll have a tube guided through your mouth and into your windpipe so that you can breathe.
The surgeon will make a cut in your chest to remove your diseased lung. The main airway to that lung and the blood vessels between that lung and your heart will then be connected to the donor lung. For some lung transplants, you may be connected to a heart-lung bypass machine, which circulates your blood during the procedure.

After your lung transplant
Immediately after the surgery, you’ll spend several days in the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU). A mechanical ventilator will help you breathe for a few days, and tubes in your chest will drain fluids from around your lungs and heart. You’ll require about three months of frequent monitoring after discharge to prevent, detect and treat complications and to assess your lung function. Your follow-up visits may involve laboratory tests, chest X-rays, an electrocardiogram (ECG), lung function tests, a lung biopsy and checkups with a specialist.

You’ll also be monitored for any signs or symptoms of rejection, such as shortness of breath, fever, coughing or chest congestion. Living a healthy lifestyle. Living a healthy lifestyle is key to sustaining your
new lung. Your doctor may advise you to not use tobacco products and to limit alcohol use Your doctor may recommend pulmonary rehabilitation — a program of exercise and education that may help improve your breathing and daily functioning — after your transplant.
A lung transplant can substantially improve your quality of life. The first year after the transplant — when surgical complications, rejection and infection pose the greatest threats — is the most critical period.

Why India?
India is becoming the most preferred healthcare destination globally.
The superlative medical treatment provided by the skilled doctors in world-class infrastructure at nearly one third the cost compared to Western Europe, North America and some Southeast Asian countries adds up to India’s credentials.

Lung Transplant in India is performed through cutting- edge clinical solutions, research, extraordinary patient care and infrastructure of world-class standards. Heart Transplant is a complex surgical exercise and needs highly skilled consultants, ingenious technical staff and advanced technology working with perfect harmony, enormous dedication and team work. India offers a one stop solution for all those seeking critical procedures such as Lung Transplant.