In a remarkable medical case, doctors encountered a 34-year-old patient named Davey Bauer whose lungs were severely infected with a drug-resistant bacterial strain, making a straightforward lung transplant impossible.
Despite having a machine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago that could fill the space temporarily while clearing any remaining infection, the challenge was how to address the significant gap left by the removal of the patient’s lungs.
The innovative solution devised by the surgeons involved using a pair of DD breast implants, which were implanted in the chest where Bauer’s old lungs once functioned.
Chief thoracic surgeon Ankit Bharat explained, “Someone who is actively dying and was so sick like David generally will have no option of transplant, and they generally just die. We had to come up with a strategy to do something that we’ve never done before.”
Bauer, a former chain smoker who switched to vaping in 2014, faced severe lung issues after contracting influenza in April. The infection resisted antibiotics, and his lungs deteriorated rapidly. Placed on an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) system in a St. Louis hospital, the machine took over the lung’s oxygenation function.
Northwestern Medicine pulmonologist Rade Tomic noted, “Davey’s lungs were so heavily infected that they started to liquefy. If you looked at his X-ray, there was nothing left – the lungs were completely filled with pus.”
The medical team realized that Bauer needed both lungs removed to clear the infection before listing him for a transplant, a challenging and uncharted situation. The breast implant solution was devised as a way to bridge the gap during this critical period. The patient’s recovery process and the success of the innovative intervention demonstrated the adaptability of medical professionals faced with unprecedented challenges.
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