Transplant Medicine

Overview

Cystic fibrosis is one of the most common genetically transmitted diseases. It affects about 30,000 people in the United States. Double-lung transplant can extend and improve quality of life for people with cystic fibrosis.

Alberto Pochettino, M.D., a thoracic and cardiac surgeon at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, explains a progressive, simultaneous approach to double-lung transplant. In this approach, both lungs are removed at once and a bypass pump temporarily takes over breathing for the patient. With bypass in place, the airway is cleaned so that infectious fluids don't reach the new lungs.

Learn how this simultaneous approach can reduce the risk of infection and pneumonia, while allowing patients to recover more quickly.

Video content outline:

• Introduction
• Progression of cystic fibrosis (0:28)
• Sequential double-lung transplant technique (1:21)
• Simultaneous double-lung transplant technique (2:07)
• Medical management of people with cystic fibrosis (3:50)
• Mayo Clinic's cystic fibrosis legacy (4:27)
• The future of lung transplantation (4:47)