Today, transplant surgeons at Toronto General Hospital made medical history.
World first: Transplant surgeons, led by Dr. Shaf Keshavjee, used a new technique to repair an injured donor lung that was unsuitable for transplant, and then successfully transplanted it into Andy Dykstra.
Dr. Keshavjee and his team have developed an “ex vivo” or outside the body technique capable of pumping a bloodless solution into damaged donor lungs. This technique allows the surgeons to heal donor lungs, while they are outside the body, and make them suitable for transplantation. Find out more about this research milestone, click here.
See a video of the breathing lung, click here.
About 80% of donor lungs are not acceptable for transplantation. With this new technique we can change those numbers and treat more patients. Currently, more than 70 patients are waiting for either a lung or heart-lung transplant in Ontario. About 20% of those on the wait list will die before they receive a lung transplant. One of these patients waiting for a lung transplant was 56-year-old Andy Dykstra. Andy literally received a second chance at life with this new technique. For over five years, he was suffering from emphysema, making even simple tasks like answering his door impossible. "I could still breathe, but I wasn't living,” he says. Read more about Andy’s story on the right hand column of this page
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Andy can have a second chance at life.
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Dr. Shaf Keshavjee is a pioneer whose work in thoracic surgery and transplantation has been recognized throughout the world. As Head of the Division of Thoracic Surgery, he and his team successfully used the artificial lung to prolong patients’ lives until donor lungs became available. More recently, they discovered unique immune cells that help control a form of lung cancer that affects the lining surrounding the lung. |
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Andy Dykstra lives in London, Ontario with his wife Chris and two daughters. He has been living with emphysema for over 5 years and has been waiting for a transplant since July 30, 2008.
When Andy learned about Dr. Keshavjee’s research and the opportunity to participate in this clinical trial, he felt it was the right thing for him. He received his new lung on December 5, 2008. “Life is sweet and I can breathe again. I am so grateful to Dr. Keshavjee and the lung transplant team. The compassion and care they have shown us have been unbelieveable.”
Read another inspirational story about a second chance at life. |
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