According to the Italian media, in Milan, the 18-year-old underwent the first surgery in Europe to transplant both lungs, which were destroyed by the coronavirus within a few days. The patient was in a very serious condition.
The acute form of COVID-19 in an 18-year-old
The young Milanese, who had not previously suffered from other diseases, fell on an extremely acute form of COVID-19which made his lungs stop working in a short time. He ended up in the resuscitation ward.
Due to his condition, he was kept in a pharmacological coma for over two months. Extracorporeal circulation kept him alive.
As reported by the daily “Corriere della Sera”, the patient was treated, inter alia, with plasma with antibodies. When the tests showed that the virus was gone, he was taken from the hospital treating people infected with the coronavirus – to a polyclinic where he had both lungs transplanted.
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A pioneering transplant
Doctors quoted by the newspaper say the operation was a “leap into the unknown”. The patient’s family was told that only a miracle could save him. Now the Polyclinic informs that 10 days after the surgery, the young patient is conscious and is slowly recovering.
This is the first such operation in Europe – doctors emphasize. A few days later, a similar one was carried out in Vienna.
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