What is a lung transplant?
A lung transplant involves the removal of one or both diseased lungs and the surgical placement of a healthy donor lung in its place. This requires three connections: the airway, the pulmonary artery and the pulmonary veins. Usually, the other diseased lung is used to breathe for the patient during the surgery, although occasionally cardiopulmonary bypass (heart-lung machine) is used. The surgery usually lasts 5-10 hours. The new (transplanted) lung begins working immediately and gradually provides most of the lung function.
