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Review
. 2020 Nov;8(21):1473.
doi: 10.21037/atm-20-805.

Lung transplantation for emphysema

Ilhan Inci  1
Affiliations
Review

Lung transplantation for emphysema

Ilhan Inci. Ann Transl Med. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

Lung transplantation (LT) is proved to be effective in patients with end-stage lung disease who are failing optimal therapy. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (emphysema) is the most common indication for adult lung transplantation. As most patients with emphysema (EMP) can survive long term, it could be difficult to decide which patient should be listed for LT. LT is a complex surgery. Therefore, it is extremely important to choose a recipient in whom expected survival is at less equal or comparable to the survival without surgery. This paper reviews patient selection, bridging strategies until lung transplantation, surgical approach and choice of the procedure, and functional outcome in emphysema recipients.

Keywords: Lung transplantation (LT); emphysema (EMP); patient selection; survival.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The author has completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/atm-20-805). The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Patient selection criteria in Zurich for LVRS and/or LT based on patients’ age, pulmonary function tests, radiologic findings, pulmonary hypertension, and steroid intake. LVRS, lung volume reduction surgery; LT, lung transplantation; PAH, pulmonary hypertension; CT, computed tomography.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Survival curve in COPD recipients who received bilateral or single lung transplantation from recent international registry (ISHLT) reported 7.8 years of median survival in recipients that received bilateral compared to 4.8 years in single lung transplant recipients. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival. Survival rates were compared using the log-rank test statistic.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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