Surgeons at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago successfully performed a double lung transplant on a woman in her twenties whose lungs were devastated by COVID-19. This groundbreaking procedure gave her a fighting chance after irreversible damage.
Physicians at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago conducted a double lung transplant on a COVID-19 patient, as reported by CBS Chicago on June 11, 2020 (video at article's end). The virus had caused irreversible destruction to her lungs, showing no signs of recovery and progressing to end-stage fibrosis.
Observing this irreparable lung tissue damage, the medical team proceeded with the transplant. It marked the second such procedure since the pandemic began; the first occurred in China in February 2020 on a patient over 70.
Prior to COVID-19, the young woman was in excellent health. She endured six weeks in intensive care, intubated on a ventilator and supported by an ECMO machine, which oxygenates blood and maintains circulation when lungs and heart fail. Massive holes in her left lung led to a severe bacterial infection.
The 10-hour operation was exceptionally complex due to the patient's lungs being "glued" to surrounding tissues, extending the typical six-hour procedure. Despite challenges, it succeeded, proving such transplants viable for select COVID-19 cases.
Now recovering, the patient is conscious but remains on life support until full stabilization in coming weeks. Surgeons confirmed her COVID-19 negativity before transplant—the sole path to survival. Such extensive lung damage in a young patient is exceedingly rare.
