Lung Transplantation

In a lung transplantation, only one or more lung lobes, a whole lung or both lobes can be used. The choice between the different options is made individually depending on the previous disease. The following diseases most frequently require lung transplantation in the final stage: therapy-resistant sarcoidosis, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), pulmonary hyperinflation (emphysema), lung parenchyma disease (fibrosis), cystic fibrosis, chronic inflammation or dilatation of the bronchi and large lung lesions.

During the operation, the chest is opened from the front and, in the case of bilateral transplantation, one lung wing is replaced after another. As a result, the use of a heart-lung machine is not normally necessary, which reduces the surgical effort.However, if circulatory problems occur during the operation or if the oxygen saturation drops to a critical level, the use of the device may still become necessary. Other complications can be bleeding or rejection reactions afterwards.

For example, if the patient suffers from heart failure, blood poisoning (sepsis), liver or kidney failure, cancer or a dependency disorder (alcohol, drugs, medication), organ transplantation may not be performed. Lung transplantation is performed only in large hospitals (mainly university hospitals). Therefore, the planning of the usually very spontaneous operation should be designed for this.

Corneal transplantation is the most frequently performed transplantation. In Germany alone, about 5000 such operations are performed annually. This number would be even higher if more people would make themselves available as donors after their death – the demand is far higher than the supply.

Transplantation can be performed either as a whole or only for individual layers. First, the cornea of the recipient must be removed in an ophthalmologic operation in order to insert the donor material. If all corneal layers are transferred, this is called penetrating keratoplasty.

The transfer of individual layers is called lamellar keratoplasty. As an alternative to donation, since 2015 it has also been possible to produce a corneal preparation from the body’s own stem cells. A rejection of the transplant is impossible, since the transplant is made of endogenous cells. An organ transplantation of the cornea may become necessary due to the following diseases: Corneal malformation, keratoconus, scarring of the cornea, injuries of the eye with involvement of the cornea or infections affecting the eye and attacking the cornea.