Coronavirus patient undergoes bilateral lung transplant in Chennai

“He developed Covid infection on June 8. Only a small portion of the lungs was still functioning. As he became breathless and oxygen saturation came down, he was put on ventilatory support on June 20. His condition continued to worsen in spite of ventilator support, he was airlifted to MGM Healthcare in Chennai from Ghaziabad on July 20. His lung condition continued to be worsening in spite of maximum ventilatory supportive care, and he was put on ECMO support on July 25, 2020, for more than one month. Such patients are difficult to manage even in well-equipped ICUs,” a statement from the hospital said.

The transplant was performed on August 27. The patient, now in the Transplant ICU, is stable, doctors said.

The hospital said this was Asia’s first known lung transplant on a Covid-19 positive patient and the second lung transplant in the hospital since the lockdown began.

The transplant was led by Dr K R Balakrishnan, Chairman and Director of Cardiac Sciences and Director of the Heart and Lung Transplant Program at MGM Healthcare, along with his team of transplant specialists including Dr Suresh Rao, Dr Srinath and Dr Apar Jindal.