Duke ’s short lung transplant list saves CF patient

Treatment TermsCystic fibrosisPulmonary rehabilitationLung transplant CategoriesAdvanced treatments SEO Meta Description Cystic fibrosis patient Aimee Driscoll was given just hours to live. With no donor lungs available near her home in Maine, she was flown to Duke. Author MaryAnn Fletcher Overview Cystic fibrosis patient Aimee Driscoll was given just hours to live. With no donor lungs available near her home in Maine, she was flown to Duke. Hero Imageaimee_driscoll_blog.jpg Preview Image Content Blocks Section Header Image/Videoaimee_driscoll_blog2b.jpg Section Features Images/Media Text Content Header High-volume lung transplant center, shorter wait times ContentDuke ’slung transplant center, the highest-volume center in the Southeast, generally has shorter wait times for donor organs -- an average of about 14 days, compared with a national average of four months. The center also accepts difficult cases.Duke quickly dispatched a life flight team to transport Driscoll from Maine. “The carbon dioxide levels in her blood were more than twice what’s normal,” said Duke pulmonologistJohn Reynolds, MD.  “She was at risk for sudden respiratory failure.” The doctors in Maine had estimated she might have just hours to live. “They had my family say goodbye, in case I didn’t make it,” Driscoll said.To stabilize her for the flight, Duke cardiothoracic surgeonJohn C. Haney, MD, put Driscoll on a life-sustaining technology called ECMO: ...
Source: dukehealth.org: Duke Health News - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Source Type: news