Overview
- The 33-year-old developed severe acute respiratory distress after influenza complicated by bacterial pneumonia, and conventional ventilation and ECMO failed.
- Surgeons performed bilateral pneumonectomy to eliminate the infection source, then supported him for two days on a heart-connected, flow‑adaptive extracorporeal total artificial lung.
- The device oxygenated blood, removed carbon dioxide and maintained physiologic cardiac flow, stabilizing organs until a double‑lung transplant was possible.
- Molecular analysis of the removed lungs revealed extensive scarring and irreversible immune injury, indicating that some severe SDRA cases may require transplantation.
- The Med journal report documents more than two years of good post‑transplant function, while experts say the approach is promising but currently limited to highly specialized centers.