India's first breathing lung transplant surgery performed in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: India's first-ever breathing lung (XVIVO Perfusion System) transplant has been performed on a middle-aged patient suffering from end-stage interstitial lung disease and who was on 10 litres oxygen support since August 2021.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Sandeep Attawar of KIMS Hospitals and his team on the morning of 12 December.

The idea behind 'breathing lung' is to run the lungs through a device that cools the organ while it breathes and nourishes it with a substrate enriched solution that has antibiotics that wipe out small traces of infection. The cleaning of the air passages through bronchoscopy can be performed while on the machine as well as several tests can be done simultaneously to further assess and enhance the performance of the lung before it is cooled and then transplanted into the recipient.

Dr. Vijil Rahulan, the chief of transplant pulmonology, explained the advantages of XVIVO organ perfusion system. "XVIVO organ conditioning system is the cutting edge, state-of-the-art system to improve organ function by perfusing the organ with nutrient solutions and antibiotics to reduce injury to the lung from cold ischemic transport in an icebox. It is also used to condition the lung with growth factors to enhance lung function and to reduce edema of the lung. Overall, this results in a better long-term life of the transplanted lung," he said.

Dr. Sandeep Attawar added, "This paradigm is the cutting edge of lung transplantation and is part of the organ regeneration concept. We at KIMS Hospitals are the first to take this unique approach in India, and with this, we could provide the best results in the long term. Only a select few transplant institutions in the United States, Canada, and Austria take this approach to enhance lung transplant outcomes."