In a first-of-its-kind surgery, a 64-years old Bahraini woman with end-stage lung failure receives an implantable artificial lung as a bridge to transplant
Global Health City with an implantable artificial lung has managed a 64-year old woman from Bahrain to keep alive. For the first time in India such a device had been used as a bridge to lung transplant. By introducing this new technology to India, Global Health City offers a glimmer of hope to thousands of patients with end-stage lung failure. With this innovative technology, the waiting time to receive a donor lung is extended.
Fatima Mohammed Ahmed, underwent a lung transplant at Global Health City three-years ago after her lung condition went bad due to Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) – a rare lung disease that tends to affect women in their child-bearing age. Post the transplant, she recovered well and returned to routine life within two-months. Things had been looking good and under control since then with regular follow-up and appropriate medication support. Unfortunately a year ago, she developed a fungal infection in her lungs, which led to bronchiolotis obliterans syndrome (BOS) – a fibrotic process resulting in progressive narrowing of bronchiolar lumens and airflow obstruction, is a manifestation of chronic allograft rejection.
Having affected by BOS, Fatima was prescribed with a series of medication regimes such as anti BOS drugs, immuno suppressive medications, etc. and the condition of her lung was closely monitored. Almost 10 months after she developed BOS and with medical management, her lung did not show any sign of improvement.
Dr Vijil Rahulan, Senior Consultant Pulmonologist said, “Adding to her worries, her lung further deteriorated. She was in ventilator support and was not an eligible candidate for immediate lung transplant. Hence, we decided to postpone the surgery so that sufficient time is given for her to be ready to receive donor organ. Usually, people with end-stage lung failure are supported with a heart-lung bypass machine known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) that uses a pump and oxygenator to deliver oxygen to the vital organs. While ECMO can be successful for this purpose, it is a temporary solution. Extended use can pose serious health risks, including permanent organ damage and frequent bleeding; moreover it needs a continuous monitoring in ICU.”
“In the case of Fatima, we had to offer the best possible support that buys her time to revive her condition and to wait for donor lung to become available. Considering the situation, our expert team decided to use Novalung, an Implantable Artificial Lung device. It is a pumpless device that needs minimal monitoring in the ICU and patient can be ambulated easily with the device in place which is not possible with ECMO”, pointed out by Dr Rahul Chandola, Senior Consultant Heart and Lung Transplant Surgeon.
Dr Govini Balasubramani, Senior Consultant Heart and Lung Transplant Surgeon said, “In India alone, about one lakh people were diagnosed with chronic end-stage lung diseases every year. Most of them succumb to death within three to five years even with appropriate medical management. Most importantly, five to ten per cent of them require immediate transplant in order to survive. Unfortunately, only about 17 such lung transplant surgeries were reported in India till date. The huge gap is primarily due to the non-availability of matching organ at the right time and a very minimal number of centres performing such a high end procedure. Novalung, as a bridge to transplant, supports the patient’s survival by extending the waiting-period to receive a donor organ up to 6 months.”
Highlighting the uniqueness of the procedure, Dr Ashok Vardhan, Group Chief Operating Officer, Global Hospitals added, “Over the years, Global Health City has become a synonym to the most preferred organ transplant centre and is one of the largest multi-organ transplant centres in India. Adding to many first-of-its-kind transplant surgeries, today with India’s First Artificial Lung Device implant Global Health City has once again demonstrated its constant endeavour to offer the best possible treatment to patients by combining contemporary technology and processes.”
EH News Bureau