A 61-year-old patient underwent double-lung surgery lately. The patient had been on an artificial lung for three months, which oxygenated the blood. He suffered significant post-COVID-19 respiratory failure and other treatment-related comorbidities after that.
After COVID-19 irreversibly destroyed his lungs, the patient received a double lung transplant. The procedure is a first for a COVID survivor and could help the Organ and Tissue Transplantation Market grow. This is because coronavirus has affected the lungs of many people, who may now be able to revert to everyday life through transplantation surgeries.
On January 12, 2021, the patient was taken to the emergency department. His symptoms included SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, a history of dyslipidemia (unusually high levels of cholesterol and other lipids in the blood), and gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining).
Despite the use of a ventilator, he developed acute dyspnea as a result of low oxygen levels. The doctors thought it necessary to put him on the advanced lung support therapy known as ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation), which replaces all the lungs' functions. The patient was kept on ECMO for 74 days before being moved to ECCO2R (Extracorporeal Carbon Dioxide Removal). It refers to a device that removes carbon dioxide but does not supply as much oxygen.
Doctors stated that various infections needed treatment. They included pneumonia and prostatitis (prostate gland swelling). Further, the patient contracted various blood problems. It involved blood clotting disorder (ECMO-associated coagulopathy) and a life-threatening reaction to heparin's blood-thinning medicine.
The team added that COVID-19 had scarred about 75% of the patient's lungs, and it was clear from his scans that his lungs were permanently damaged and would not recover. Luckily, the patient was eligible for a transplant as he is young and strong. Both characteristics are required to survive the risky procedures, and COVID-19 did not affect other organs. He received the life-saving organs in May after a thorough clinical evaluation.
The surgery took around seven hours, and there was a two-week period of intense care afterwards. The patient will need to take more than a dozen drugs for the rest of his life to prevent organ rejection and infections and will continue to receive rehabilitation to improve his quality of life, lung function, and mobility.
Lung transplantation is a life-saving procedure for a few COVID-19 patients whose lungs have been irreversibly damaged by the virus and who are well enough to withstand major surgery. However, given the global impact of COVID-19 and the growing number of younger, healthier individuals who are infected, the number of transplant candidates is expected to skyrocket. COVID-19 survivors, whose lungs may deteriorate over time, could add to this number.