Pune woman becomes third in country to get lung transplant

Pune woman becomes third in country to get lung transplant

Secunderabad-based Yashodha Hospitals has succeeded in performing its first lung transplant, the third such transplant in the country, on a 34-year-old Pune-based woman.

The hospital's Chief Cardiothoracic Transplant and Minimal Access Surgeon AGK Gokhale and Senior Consultant Anaesthetist Subramanyam gave a new lease of life to the patient, who suffered from a lung condition called interstitial fibrosis, where lungs become stiff and oxygen does not go into the blood through the lungs.

Doctors treating her in Mumbai had suggested a lung transplant, as both her lungs were damaged, making her bed-ridden and dependent on external supply of oxygen since months.

When the family members of a brain-dead patient agreed to donate, Gokhale and his team performed a 14-hour surgery, successfully transplanting the lung. The patient has been doing well since the transplant, though she will be under observation for another three to six months.