Lung transplant

Question

Is lung transplant the definitive solution for this disease?

Answer

Thank you for this interesting question. The reply to your question is certainly no. Lung transplant is only considered in patients with a life expectancy below 2 years. When a patient has an unstable course, when his quality of life is insufficient, when his lung function shows an FEV1 below 30% predicted the patient and the doctor can consider lung transplant. The median survival after lung transplant is at present 7 years. That means that 50% of the patients die earlier than 7 years after transplant. It also means that 50% of the patients live longer than 7 years after the transplant.

The biggest problems in case of transplant are rejection of the transplanted lung and infection because the patient needs to take anti-rejection medecines (immunosuppressive drugs).

In a nut shell one can state that a lung transplant offers a new chance to patients with very severe lung disease. It is however certain that lung transplant will not provide them with a normal life expectancy. After lung transplant the patient has in some ways a new disease because of rejection and other possible complications. And of course we should remind that lung transplant will not treat the other organs involved in cystic fibrosis such as liver, diabetes and malabsorption. Follow up with the CF doctor will thus also be necessary after lung transplant.

Professor Dr. K. De Boeck

11.02.2010