Lung transplant and failure

Non-surgical lung failure treatment

Respiratory failure can be acute (happens suddenly) or chronic (happens over time). The two most common types of lung failure are:

• Hypoxemic respiratory failure which happens when you don’t have enough oxygen in your blood (hypoxemia). Heart and lung conditions are the most common causes.
• Hypercapnic respiratory failure which happens when you have too much carbon dioxide (CO2) in your blood. If your body can’t get rid of carbon dioxide, a waste product, there isn’t room for your blood cells to carry oxygen. The most common causes of hypercapnic respiratory failure include heart, lung, muscle and neurological (brain and spinal cord) conditions.

Non-surgical lung failure treatments use medications or procedures to treat respiratory failure, including:

• Oral medications and inhaled medications such as an inhaler device or a nebulizer machine opens up airways, allowing oxygen in and removing carbon dioxide more effectively.
• Oxygen therapy uses a mask or a pronged tube that is placed just under the nose to deliver oxygen through the nose.
• Ventilators are machines that helps you breathe by blowing air into your airways and lungs.
• Non-invasive Positive Pressure Ventilation helps to keep your airways open while you sleep by wearing a mask that creates mild air pressure to keep the airways open.
• Intravenous Fluids may be given to support proper blood flow and transportation of nutrition throughout the body, without causing fluid to build up in the lungs.
• Tracheostomy involves surgically creating a hole in the front of your neck and into your windpipe to improve your breathing. You may also receive oxygen therapy through a tracheostomy
• Pulmonary rehabilitation uses therapy to focus on exercise and education, as well as breathing retraining, airway clearance, mental health support, and nutrition.

When non-surgical medical therapy and interventions don’t offer relief or exist, a lung transplant for patients with chronic, end-stage lung disease may be recommended.

Lung transplant surgery

Your physician or pulmonologist may refer you to Tulane Transplant Institute at EJ for evaluation to determine whether a lung transplant is the right choice for you, and whether you are a suitable candidate for the procedure. If all other non-surgical treatments have been ineffective, candidates for a lung transplant may include those with:

• Bronchiectasis.
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
• Cystic fibrosis (CF).
• Interstitial lung disease (ILD).
• Lung injuries.
• Pulmonary hypertension.

Single or double lung transplants involve surgically replacing the diseased heart with a new one to restore normal function and require lifelong medications and management to prevent rejection.

Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, or CTEPH, is a surgical procedure for high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs caused by repeated blood clots or clots that do not dissolve. This surgery clears the blood vessels from the inside allowing blood to again flow normally through the previously blocked areas.

To learn more, please contact the Tulane Transplant Institute at 504-988-5344.