Lung transplant recipient thrives nearly 20 years later

Phys Org


Photo : Steven Songer, 17, of Denison, Texas, became the 301st lung recipient at UT Southwestern around Thanksgiving 2011. Credit: UT Southwestern Medical Center

UT Southwestern Medical Center has performed more than 300 lung transplants in recent decades, and Michael Young represents a remarkable success story.

Mr. Young, 59, of Grand Prairie, whose lungs were ravaged by pulmonary fibrosis, underwent a lung transplant in 1993. Nineteen years later, he is the longest living survivor of UT Southwestern's Lung Transplant Program.
Before his transplant, Mr. Young's lung function was so diminished that he spent his days on oxygen confined to his La-Z-Boy. At night, he was forced to sleep sitting up in order to breathe.

"After my operation, I walked out of the intensive care unit to my patient room and realized I had the capacity to breathe again," Mr. Young said. "It was the most joyous moment of my life."

The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients ranks UT Southwestern among the highest in survival rates for one year and three years after surgery. The medical center, which began its lung transplantation program in 1990, has an 86 percent survival rate one year after surgery and a 75 percent survival rate three years after surgery – compared to national averages that are 84 percent and 67 percent, respectively.
Read more: http://phys.org/wire-news/96693359/lung-transplant-recipient-thrives-nearly-20-years-later.html

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