Lung Transplant Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Lung Transplant, including details on risks, prognosis, procedure, surgery, organ donation.

Combined double lung-liver transplantation for cystic fibrosis without cardio-pulmonary by-pass.

Corno V, Dezza MC, Lucianetti A, Codazzi D, Carrara B, Pinelli D, Parigi PC, Guizzetti M, Strazzabosco M, Melzi ML, Gaffuri G, Sonzogni V, Rossi A, Fagiuoli S, Colledan M

General Surgery III Liver and Lung Transplantation Center, Ospedali Riuniti, Bergamo, Italy. vcorno@ospedaliriuniti.bergamo.it

Sequential bilateral single lung-liver transplantation (SBSL-LTx) is a therapeutic option for patients with end stage lung and liver disease (ESLLD) due to cystic fibrosis (CF). A few cases have been reported, all of them were performed with the use of cardio-pulmonary by-pass (CPB). We performed SBSL-LTx in three young men affected by CF. All the recipients had respiratory failure and portal hypertension with hypersplenism. Along with lung transplants, two patients received a whole liver graft and one an extended right graft from an in situ split liver. During transplantation neither CPB nor veno-venous by-pass (VVB) were employed. Immunosuppression was based on basiliximab, tacrolimus, steroids and azathioprine. The three recipients are alive with a median follow-up of 670 days (range 244-1,533). Combined SBSL-LTx is a complex but effective procedure for the treatment of ESLLD due to CF, not necessarily requiring the use of CPB or VVB.

Published 11 September 2007 in Am J Transplant, 7(10): 2433-8.
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