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Earlier this month, the BWH lung transplant team performed lung transplants on four patients within a 24 hour period. Coming less than a year after the first quintuple lung transplants milestone, the feat highlights not only the skill of surgeons, but also the importance of other team members caring for patients before, during and after lung, kidney and heart transplants.
“BWH has a longstanding commitment to helping patients with advanced disease through transplantation, resulting in a lung transplant program that is the most active in the region,” said Aaron Deykin, MD, medical director of Lung Transplant.
Successful transplant teams are characterized by a shared dedication to caring for the sickest patients, mutual respect for the team’s various disciplines and courage to advance the work in uncharted territory. Members speak of the honor of serving on the transplant team, following the tradition of those that performed the first successful kidney transplant in 1952 and New England’s first successful lung transplant in 1990. As Phillip Hartigan, MD, director of Thoracic Anesthesiology put it, “I’ve been on many teams in my career; but the BWH thoracic transplant team is by far the best.”
That sentiment is echoed by Lung Transplant Coordinator Kathy Boyle, RN. “We are essentially ‘on-call’ around the clock, 365 days a year,” she said. “The team never says no if a donor lung is appropriate for one of our patients on the waiting list.”
Team cohesiveness has been carefully cultivated since the early days of transplantation. “I have to credit the courage of the very first lung transplant team, who in 1990, flew up to Toronto to observe one of the first of these extremely challenging surgeries before themselves performing the first one in New England,” said Hartigan.
Work toward continual improvement in lung transplant patient care is another hallmark of the team. The surgical team debriefs after each of the 20-25 lung transplants performed each year, a practice that has led to major breakthroughs in the delicate and time sensitive procedure.
The patient care team meets weekly to focus on the needs of 200 transplant recipients and many others on the waiting list. Among the team members are psychologists assessing patient appropriateness for transplantation; social workers preparing them for the ups and downs associated with surgery and recovery; pulmonary rehabilitation specialists assisting with conditioning and nursing staff, and pulmonologists providing direct care and post-surgery education.
“We are very fortunate – patients and practitioners alike – to be part of the great BWH tradition in transplantation,” said Deykin, MD, summing up the feeling of many team members about being part of the lung transplant team at BWH.
“History of Pride,” a monthly series, commemorates the 50th anniversary of transplantation.