UCLA lung transplant program performs landmark 1000th surgery

TheUCLA Lung Transplant program performed its 1,000th transplant surgery in mid-September, becoming the first program on the West Coast, and one of only seven centers nationwide, to achieve this milestone.The recipient of the donor lungs was Elba De Contreras, 59, from Goleta, California, who suffered from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension. The six-hour surgery took place at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, led by Dr. Abbas Ardehali, surgical director of the lung and heart transplant programs.De Contreras, who relied on an oxygen tank prior to her surgery, is recuperating well and said she feels happy and energetic. With three sons and four grandkids, De Contreras said she looks forward to resuming her social life. Her husband, Willy, said that the donor lungs have given his wife “new life” and she looks 20 years younger.“This is a big milestone for UCLA’s lung transplant program” said Ardehali, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery. “Achieving 1,000 lung transplants is a reflection of the experience and dedication of our team.”Lung transplantation has come a long way since UCLA performed its first operation in 1988. While the procedure used to have a significant morbidity rate, as new techniques were developed the 30-day survival rate improved dramatically, reaching 98 percent at UCLA currently, compared to the national average of 96.5 percent.These advances in patient outcomes are attributable to several factors, including the improvem...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news