Tried or prescribed Heart-Lung Transplant? Share your experience.
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This is a surgery to remove a severely diseased and damaged heart and lungs. They are replaced with a healthy heart and lungs from a deceased donor.
The Heart and Lungs © 2009 Nucleus Medical Media, Inc. |
A heart-lung transplant is done if you have:
- An irreversible, life-threatening lung disease that affects the heart (but are in otherwise good health)—An example of this is severe pulmonary hypertension (an increase in blood pressure in the lung's blood vessels).
- Have undergone other treatments (eg, surgery, medicine) without success
Possible Complications
If you are planning to have a heart-lung transplant, your doctor will review a list of possible complications, which may include:
- Infection
- Rejection of the donor heart or lungs
- Coronary artery disease
- Pneumonia
- Blood clots
- Bleeding
- Decreased brain functioning
- Damage to other organs, like the kidneys
- Irregular heart rate
- Anesthesia-related problems
- Infection or cancer related to taking immunosuppressive medicines
- Death
Some factors that may increase the risk of complications include:
- Pre-existing heart or lung conditions
- Age: 60 or older
- Kidney or liver disease
- Uncontrolled diabetes
- Infection
- Stroke
- Smoking
- Continued substance abuse or alcohol abuse
- Poor circulation *...
