Abstract

Compared to other organ transplantations, lung and heart-lung transplantations have the following peculiarities: (1) bacterial colonization of the bronchi or lung parenchyma is almost constant because of the contact of donor's and recipient's lungs to the air through the intubation tube; (2) the lung is a particularly fragile organ and sensitive to the hemodynamic modifications in the donor following brain death; (3) the lung is the only organ transplanted without systemic revascularization, which increases the risks of bronchial ischemia, bronchomalacia, and mucociliary dysfunction; and (4) the lung has a large amount of lymphoid rissue, rendering it particularly immunogenic.

Abstract

A major discrepency exists between the number of available cadaveric livers and patien ts requiring liver transplants, which has resulted in the innovative procurement of liver segments taken from healthy donors being implanted into cirrhotic patients. Most recently, liver surgeons have started resecting the entire right lobe (segments V-VIII) from healthy adult donor livers, and implanting these segments into recipients where the graft is able to sustain and maintain metabolic function and fully regenerate.