Case of First ever Double Lung Transplant of Karnataka

First ever case of a double lung transplant has been reported from Karnataka. Lung Conditions in which lung transplant is performed are -

Cystic fibrosis: This is a condition where the patients suffer from the clogging effect of thick sticky mucus formation between lungs and digestive system.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): This is a condition that can result from numerous diseases that apparently damage the lungs. One of the main reasons is excessive smoking.

Pulmonary Hypertension: This is condition where patient has high blood pressure inside the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lungs.

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: This is a condition where the patient's lungs have scarring.

Doctors at Narayana Health City gives a new lease of life to a 28-year-old young man by conducting a double lung transplant. The transplant makes Narayana Health City the first hospital in the state to successfully conduct a double lung transplant.

Hailing from Thrissur, Kerala, Sudeesh MV was a construction worker until he started developing severe bronchiectasis which led to lung failure. In the last one year, his condition had worsened making him dependant on oxygen support. In fact, he was finding it difficult to even move around. Every step he took made him feel as though he was climbing a mountain. The family’s search for a treatment led them to Narayana Health City and he was admitted at Narayana Health City in the month of February.

After a thorough evaluation by the doctors, he was advised to undergo the lung transplant. However, as he was suffering from severe infections, the first task at hand for the doctors was to stabilise his condition. Once he was stable, the doctors began the search for a matching lung. Fortunately, for him within three months, the team was able to identify matching lungs for him. The donor was from Sparsh Hospital, Yeshwantpur. The doctors successfully performed the transplant on June 20th and the patient is recovering fast.

Elaborating about the lung transplant, Dr. Julius Punnen, Heart & Lung Transplant Surgeon, Narayana Health City said, “Lung transplant is a very complex surgery. It is the only successful treatment modality available for lung failure. In fact, unlike other organs the functioning of lungs cannot be aided by external long-term support, it needs a transplant. However, in this case, it was not just one, we had to transplant both the lungs making it very challenging. With the help of our expert team of transplant surgeons, pulmonologist and paramedical staff we were able to successfully perform the surgery.”

The challenging double lung transplant was performed by the multidisciplinary team led by Dr. Julius Punnen, Heart & Lung Transplant Surgeon, Dr. Basha Khan, Transplant Pulmonologist, Dr. Julius Punnen, Senior Consultant Cardiothoracic, Vascular and Transplant surgeon, Dr. Syed Tousheed, Pulmonologist, Dr. Sanjay OP, Transplant Pulmonologist, Dr. Varun Shetty, Cardiothoracic Surgeon and team of support staff.

Expressing his joy, Mr. Sudeesh MV said, “After a long struggle with infections and hospitalisation, I am extremely thankful to the team of doctors at Narayana Health for giving me a new lease of life. I can now lead a normal life and get back to my work.”

With this treatment, Narayana Health City becomes the only hospital in the state to have successfully conducted a double lung transplant.