||LUNG TRANSPLANT IN SEVERE PULMONARY HYPERTENSION||
19-year-old female was diagnosed with Bronchiectasis at 7 years of age. Her lung condition gradually deteriorated which led her to become oxygen dependent. She became extremely oxygen dependent and had breathlessness even at rest. She hardly maintains oxygen saturation more than 85% even with 10 litres of oxygen support. Her family was extremely worried about her declining health condition. Her parents brought her to Rela institute. She was evaluated and was found to have cystic bronchiectasis with severe pulmonary hypertension due to long standing poor pulmonary reserve. Parents were counselled about high-risk lung transplantation and registered her in Tamilnadu state transplant registry for a suitable cadaver donor.
Her lung condition further deteriorated during waiting period with frequent hospitalizations, on a verge of requiring ventilator and extracorporeal lung support.
On 21st September, a potential brain-dead donor from Thanjavur was alerted and our team went to Thanjavur and assessed the organ. The lungs were suitable for her and harvested. Lungs were transported from Thanjavur to Trichy by road and from Trichy to Chennai by commercial flight. Total travel time was 02.20 hrs.
She underwent successful lung transplant surgery performed by Dr. Srinath Vijayasekharan, Dr. Senthil Kumar and Team, after a successful transplantation patient was shifted to ICU. She required ventilator support for more than a week. She was shifted to ward after three weeks of surgery and got discharged on fourth week. Now the girl living a normal human life and on a regular follow up.