heart-lung transplant


heart-lung transplant

The insertion of a donated heart with its associated lungs, connected as a unit, into the chest of a patient with severe destructive heart and lung disease. The operation involves fewer major connections than a heart transplant, but immunological reactions may be greater and the connection to the windpipe (trachea) may cause problems. A common rejection reaction is a severe inflammation of the small bronchi, called obliterative bronchiolitis. Even so, the results are remarkable and about 70' of patients are alive and well 2 years after the operation.