Expertise in Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion
For some patients with certain serious lung diseases, lung
transplantation is the only treatment that can save their lives. However,
patients often must wait for weeks or months for transplant because only about
20 to 30 percent of donor lungs are usable.
Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) is technology that helps to
assess and possibly repair and restore lungs that are damaged at the time of the
donor’s death. By repairing lungs that might have previously been considered
too damaged for transplant, EVLP helps expand the pool of healthy donor lungs –
and helps us save additional lives.
UT Southwestern’s lung transplant team performs more than 60
lung transplantations each year and is one of fewer than two dozen U.S. centers
using EVLP. Our team consists of pulmonologists, surgeons, cardiologists,
transplant coordinators, nurses, dietitians, social workers, and pharmacists –
providing a multidisciplinary approach to caring for patients with end-stage
lung disease who need transplantation. Our multidisciplinary approach helps us
deliver a personalized treatment plan for each patient that includes
postoperative and long-term care.
Conditions We Treat
Lung transplantation is a treatment for people with
end-stage lung disease for whom other treatments have failed. Our lung
transplant specialists typically recommend transplantation for people with
severe lung diseases such as:
Treatment With Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion
At UT Southwestern, we use the EVLP system as part of our
lung transplantation process. The system helps our transplant team more
thoroughly evaluate donor lungs and improves the quality of donor lungs as they
are being considered for transplantation.