Doctors from the Silesian Center for Heart Diseases in Zabrze performed a lung transplant operation in a patient with COVID-19. “The patient’s lungs were not functioning at all. Their work was replaced with a device for extracorporeal blood oxygenation, ”said Marek Ochman, Ph.D., a transplantologist and pulmonologist from Zabrze, on TVN24.
The case of a 50-year-old man shows that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is dangerous not only for seniors with comorbidities. According to the doctors, the man’s lungs were completely destroyed, and he himself required an immediate transplant. The transplant procedure was performed at the Silesian Center for Heart Diseases. The man was transported there from the University Hospital in Krakow. As reported by TVN24, before the operation, the 50-year-old was connected to ECMO. It is a method of extracorporeal breathing support. He came to Zabrze in a critical condition.
– The patient’s lungs were not functioning at all. Their work was replaced by a device for extracorporeal blood oxygenation – said Marek Ochman, PhD, transplantologist and pulmonologist from the Silesian Center for Heart Diseases in Zabrze.
Lung transplant the only chance of survival
Dr hab. Marek Ochman in an interview with TVN24 admitted that the patient is recovering. «At the moment I can say that the transplant has been successful. I hope that in some time we will share with you the details of the health condition of this patient when he goes home ».
Marian Zembala, the managing director of the Silesian Center for Heart Diseases in Zabrze, appealed to the public, stressing that we can be proud that even in a dramatic situation the patient is provided with help, but it is better not to lead to such a situation. “The most important thing is to remember the mask every day” – added Zembala.
“This case shows that we must all be very careful, because even young, healthy people, this disease can damage the lungs in an irreversible and sometimes dramatic way,” added Ochman.
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