Lung

Abstract

Experiments with animals in the 1940 and 1950s demonstrated that lung transplantation was technically possible [33]. In 1963, Dr. James Hardy performed the first human lung transplantation. The recipient survived 18 days, ultimately succumbing to renal failure and malnutrition [58]. From 1963 through 1978, multiple attempts at lung transplantation failed because of rejection and complications at the bronchial anastomosis. In the 1980s, improvements in immunosuppression, especially the introduction of cyclosporin A, and enhanced surgical techniques led to renewed interest in organ transplantation. In 1981, a 45-year-old-woman received the first successful heart-lung transplantation for idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) [106]. She survived 5 years after the procedure. Two years later the first successful single lung transplantation for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) [128] was reported, and in 1986 the first double lung transplantation for emphysema [25] was performed. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.