Type of Surgery
Information

Last updated: 11/24/2009
Heart-lung transplantation is required when blood ventilation (air exchange) is inhibited. Inhibited oxygen and carbon dioxide transfer prevents the delivery of oxygen to the tissue and results in carbon dioxide levels in the blood that are higher...
than normal. Additionally, pulmonary hypertension can cause compromised cardiac function.
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The animated video, narrated by a physician, describes the two main types of stroke: ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. Ischemic strokes are further subdivided into thrombotic strokes and embolic strokes while hemorrhagic strokes are classified into subarachnoid hemorrhage and intracerebral hemorrhage. The location of the stroke in the brain directly influences the kind and degree of neurological deficit, which is discussed.
Chest is opened to expose the diseased heart and lung to be removed (A). Heart and lung function is taken over by a heart-lung machine. Major blood vessels are severed, and the heart is removed (B). Bronchus and blood vessels leading to the lung are severed, and the lung is removed (C). Donor heart and lung are placed in the patient's the chest cavity (D). They are sutured to their appropriate connections, and the heart is restarted before the patient is taken off the heart-lung machine (E). (Illustration by GGS Inc.)
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A heart-lung transplant is a procedure carried out to replace both heart and lungs in a single operation. Due to a shortage of suitable donors, it is a rare procedure; only about a hundred such transplants are performed each year in the USA.
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