Rare lung transplant performed at Secunderabad hospital

A rare lung transplant, the third of its kind in the country, was performed at a Secunderabad-based hospital near here. Doctors at Yashodha Hospital successfully operated upon the lungs of a 34-year-old woman from Pune, who was suffering from interstitial fibrosis, a critical condition where lungs become stiff, blocking passage of oxygen into blood.

The hospital's team comprising chief cardiothoracic transplant and minimal access surgeon AGK Gokhale and senior consultant anesthetist Subramanyam performed the 14-hour long surgery. Doctors treating her in Mumbai had suggested a lung transplant, as both her lungs were damaged. 

The decision to conduct a surgery was taken after family members of the brain-dead patient, who had been bed ridden for several months and was dependent on external supply of oxygen, agreed to donate the organ.The patient has been doing well since the transplant, though she will be under observation for another three to six months.

PTI