Cardiopulmonary transplantation: current practice.
Heart-lung transplantation has become an effective form of therapy for end-stage cardiopulmonary disease. Early results have steadily improved, and a 1-year survival rate of over 60% is now expected. The fact that lungs can be preserved for an extended period allows organs to be procured almost anywhere and this, in turn, has slightly improved the availability of organs for transplant. A diagnosis of lung rejection remains imprecise and progress still needs to be made in this area. Obliterative bronchiolitis of a variable degree remains the major medium-term complication, probably representing chronic graft rejection. Although long-term progress cannot yet be predicted, heart-lung transplantation remains the only option for a normal life for this special group of patients.
Fragomeni
L S
LS
Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Minnesota Heart and Lung Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455.
Bonser
R S
RS
Jamieson
S W
SW
D006084:Graft Rejection; D006085:Graft Survival; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications; D016040:Lung Transplantation; D009926:Organ Preservation; D011182:Postoperative Care; D014019:Tissue Donors