Heart-and-lung transplant

Definition

Heart-and-lungtransplant is surgery to replace a diseased heart and lungs with a healthy heart and lungs from a human donor.

Alternative Names

Transplant - heart and lungs

Indications

Heart-lung transplant may be recommended for patients with:

Heart-and-lung transplants are not recommended for patients who havepoor kidney or liver function, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, or other serious diseases.

Convalescence

Anlong hospital stay should be expected. The recovery period is about 6 months. Frequent check-ups with blood tests and x-rayswill be necessary for years.

Expectations after surgery

A heart-and-lung transplant extends the life of a patient who would otherwise die. The operation is done only when there is a very good chance of success. While long-term outcomes are unknown at this time, the 5 year survival rate is about 40 - 50%.

As with all major organ transplants, the problems are finding a donor, preventing rejection, and the cost of the surgery and medications.

Finding a donor for heart-lung transplant can be difficult. The donated organs must come from a person who has been declared brain-dead, but is still on life-support. The patient who needs the transplant must be healthy enough to survive the surgery.

Preventing rejection is an ongoing process. The body's immune system considers the transplanted organs as invaders, and fights them.

To prevent rejection, organ transplant patients must take anti-rejection drugs such as cyclosporine and corticosteroids that reduce the body's immune response. These drugs also reduce the body's natural ability to fight off various infections.

Risks

Risks for any anesthesia are:

  • Reactions to medications
  • Problems breathing
Risks for any surgery are:
  • Bleeding
  • Infection
Additional risks of transplant includes:
  • Failure of the transplanted organs
  • Rejection of the transplanted organs
  • Infection due to anti-rejection (immunosuppression) medications
  • Blood clots
  • Stroke
Heart, section through the middle
Heart, section through the middle
Heart, front view
Heart, front view
Lungs
Lungs
Thoracic organs
Thoracic organs
Heart-lung transplant - series
Heart-lung transplant - series
Review Date: 7/25/2007
Reviewed By: Robert A. Cowles, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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