Progress Report Division & Section Reports
Lung Transplantation
Joshua R. Sonett, MD
Lung Transplantation
Organ transplantation that prolongs and dramatically improves quality of life is practically a daily occurrence at Columbia University Medical Center.
For patients suffering from advanced emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, or other debilitating respiratory disorders, lung transplantation offers a return to improved breathing and an excellent quality of life.
A wealth of experience, a record of success
Columbia University Medical Center's lung and heart-lung transplantation program, which began in 1985, is fast approaching its 200th transplant. Performing more than 30 transplants each year, the lung and heart-lung transplant teams have earned a national reputation for excellence. In addition, Columbia University Medical Center's world-renowned transplantation researchers have helped lead the way to improvements in care that, nationwide, have increased the long-term survival rate for lung transplantation by 50% over the past seven years. Among those improvements are new immunosuppressive agents, new antibiotics, refined surgical techniques, and a more comprehensive understanding of follow-up care.
A recognized leader in high-risk case
High-risk individuals, even those excluded from other transplant programs, can often find help at Columbia University Medical Center. Complex illnesses, including congenital cardiopulmonary disorders, certain cancers, and multiple organ transplants, need not preclude the possibility of transplantation. If a difficult re-operative condition exists, the surgeons and clinical specialists at Columbia University Medical Center have the expertise to offer treatment when others may not.
Specialists in pediatric transplantation
Columbia University Medical Center is one of only a handful of medical centers in the United States performing pediatric lung transplantation. The pediatric specialists at Columbia University Medical Center's Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York, the oldest and largest university-affiliated children's hospital in New York City, ensure that the youngest patients in need of transplantation receive expert, comprehensive, and age-specific care. These patients also benefit from the pediatric lung and heart-lung transplantation program's integration with other specialized services at Children's Hospital of New York, including its Cystic Fibrosis Center.
Since I arrived in the summer of 2001, we have performed 22 lung transplants with one death (4%). National mortality benchmarks are in the 15% range.
A commitment to living donor lung transplantation
Living donor lung transplantation is an innovative procedure in which two donors, related or not, each donate a lower lobe. Together, these lobes serve as a full lung for the recipient. With a growing experience in this surgery, which can benefit both adults and children, Columbia University Medical Center is committed to becoming the specialist in the eastern United States for this new technique which can benefit both adults and children.
Teamwork optimizes success
The Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Program at Columbia University Medical Center draws upon the talents of a broad range of health-care professionals, including surgeons, pulmonologists, immunologists, endocrinologists, nurse coordinators, intensive care unit clinicians, rehabilitation medicine specialists, physical therapists, psychiatrists, social workers, and financial counselors. Members of this multidisciplinary team meet to evaluate the profile of each transplant applicant, reviewing the patient's medical history, physical examination, and laboratory and radiographic data. Together, they perform the comprehensive assessment and provide the individualized treatment that each candidate deserves.
Lung and Heart-Lung Transplantation Program
www.columbialungtransplant.org
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