High-risk patient gets life-saving transplant when UCLA team accepts her case

A 24-year-old cystic fibrosis patient is starting the new year with new hope thanks to help from the U.S. Air Force, the actor who played Chewbacca in the “Star Wars” movies and a UCLA surgeon who said yes to a high-risk case.Kathlyn Chassey of San Antonio, Texas, was born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease characterized by the build-up in the lungs of thick, sticky mucus that traps infection-causing bacteria. While there is no cure, lung transplantation can help alleviate many of the symptoms.Courtesy of the Chassey familyKathlyn Chassey walks after her lung transplant surgery at Reagan UCLA Medical Center.Chassey ’s father, Chris, is a chief master sergeant in the United States Air Force. Last November, when her breathing problems worsened, she was hospitalized at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. By the end of the month, her condition became critical, and she was placed on life support to tak e over her breathing function.The only chance of saving her life, doctors warned, was a lung transplant.An urgent search began to find a transplant center that would take her case. But one center after another turned her down, deeming the surgery too risky.With time running out, Chassey ’s family desperately needed help spreading the word. Friends quickly developed a website and social media campaign. As members of the "Star Wars" fandom, the family turned to longtime friend, actor Peter Mayhew — Chewbacca from the films — whom Chassey befriended at a co...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news