Spring is known as a season of renewal. As it happens, April is National Donate Life Month in the United States. This is an opportunity to raise awareness about organ donation. It is also a time to honor those who have made the ultimate gift of renewal by donating an organ. Lung transplants made possible through organ donation have long been an important part of treating people with severe breathing problems. A new lung or two can make a big difference in your symptoms and activity level. Unfortunately, lungs have also long been in short supply. Some sources say that wait times for donor lungs average around six months, while others say closer to two years. Either way, the available supply is much less than the need, and even short waits can feel like an eternity.
There are many steps to getting a lung transplant. There are a lot of tests involved, from the usual medical tests like X-rays and blood work to psychological and social tests. These help prepare people for the transplant process and for post-transplant life. Once someone is accepted onto the list, regular contact with their care team is important. No one can predict when matching organs can become available, so candidates should be ready to go at a moment’s notice. After the transplant, more tests are needed to make sure everything went well and the person is on their way to better health. New medications are needed to make sure the body does not reject the new organs and start the cycle over again. But, they have a new pair of lungs to help them breathe easier.
There are now a few alternatives to full lung transplants. Most people have some areas in the lung that have more damage than others. These sections can trap air inside and over-inflate, preventing healthier areas from working properly. In a procedure called lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS), surgeons go in and cut out some of the damaged lung tissue. That allows the healthier spots to inflate normally and work more efficiently. LVRS has been found to improve activity levels and even help people live longer but is still a major procedure. As with any surgery, there are risks of infection and other illnesses afterward. Improvements are also not a sure thing. These concerns have made many people hesitate before going through with the procedure.
Fortunately, there is another option. Researchers have developed special one-way valves that allow the sick parts of the lung to empty during exhalation and prevent them from refilling during the next breath. This provides basically the same result as LVRS without all the incisions. The valves are placed with a device called a bronchoscope, a thin tube with a camera and other tools that can travel deep into the lungs. This bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) has been shown to have similar results to its surgical cousin with much less risk. Even better, in the rare case that things do go wrong, the valves can also be removed with a bronchoscope. Our BLVR 101 presentation is mostly aimed at health care professionals who want to learn about the procedure, but it also has several slides written for people with COPD who are curious about it. You can find those near the end of the document.
The world of COPD treatments outside of medications continues to grow. Where once only transplants were an option, we now have LVRS and BLVR. More procedures, including some using special glues or bursts of heat or cold to change how cells work, are also on the horizon. We’d like to hear from you now…have you had one of these procedures? What was your experience like? If you have not had one, what are you curious about? Leave a comment below and let’s chat!