the maybe-ECMO patient gets lungs!

Maybe-ECMO patient is now Lung Transplant patient, after a day and a half of having ECMO (while I was off), he was called to the OR to receive his new lungs at 2am. We are following the board, watching for him to return to TICU.

Interesting facts about lung transplants:
Survival rate after 5 years: 50%
Survival rate at 10 years: 28%
Transplanted lungs typically begin to fail after 5 years, and typically fail completely at 10 years.

A single lung transplantation takes 6-8 hours, a double lung transplant can take up to 12 hours.

The single most common reason (27%) for lung transplantation is emphysema. IPF (such as what this patient has) is the reason for a transplant 16% of the time.

Patients, even vented or ECMO patients, are required to continue to do physical therapy. They cannot have received blood transfusions in the recent past, have no signs or symptoms of any kind of infection, and must be non-smoking, non-drinking, non-drug using, and willing and able to comply with medical instructions.They must fit a psychological profile, have no other chronic disorders of major organs, cannot have hepatitis or HIV, be within the required age range, and have a good social support system.

Here's to hoping Mr. Lung Transplant gets his lungs and everything goes off without a hitch!