Vanderbilt lung transplant establishes new record

(Press-News.org) Surgeons and teams with Vanderbilt Lung Transplant performed 99 lung transplants in 2024, the most ever in one year. Two of the procedures involved combined organ transplants.

For the second calendar year in a row, Vanderbilt Lung Transplant has the busiest program in the Southeast and leads the nation in innovation in organ preservation and regeneration.

The Vanderbilt Transplant Center is now home to the nation’s eighth largest lung transplant program by volume, and is among the best in long-term outcomes, demonstrating the success of the interdisciplinary team in caring for these complex patients.

This significant achievement reflects the concerted effort of a multidisciplinary collaboration by the Departments of Thoracic Surgery, Medicine and Anesthesiology and Critical Care.

“It is a challenge to achieve both significant growth and maintain high-quality outcomes, which is something that requires a team effort and deliberate planning,” said Matthew Bacchetta, MD, MBA, surgical director of the Vanderbilt Lung Institute (VLI).

David Erasmus, MD, medical director of Vanderbilt Lung Transplant added, “We are so proud of the many people and ancillary services with whom we depend upon to make this achievement possible, especially our advanced lung disease service.”  

The Vanderbilt Lung Transplant surgical team is led by Konrad Hoetzenecker, MD, PhD, and Caitlin Demarest, MD, PhD, the surgical director and associate surgical director of the Vanderbilt Lung Transplant program.

Faculty from Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology (directed by Frederick Lombard, MD) and Anesthesiology Critical Care within the Department of Anesthesiology support lung transplant patients through their surgery and postoperative ICU care using cutting-edge hemodynamic monitoring and optimization techniques.

Patients are selected for lung transplants, cared for in their journey during the hospital stay and followed for many years by a dedicated team of transplant pulmonologists led by Erasmus. The experienced nurse practitioners on the Loyd/Advanced Lung Disease Service cares for patients once they are out of the ICU.

Lung transplant leadership also credited a dedicated group of coordinators, clinical pharmacists, social workers and administrators for the milestone. Lung transplant recipients benefit greatly from the expertise of many other services available from Vanderbilt Health, such as colleagues in Transplant Infectious Diseases, all of whom contribute to exemplary outcomes and patient experiences.

Patients also are cared for under the umbrella of the Vanderbilt Lung Institute, which brings together experts in diagnosing and treating lung disease from pulmonary medicine, thoracic surgery and allergy. The VLI’s mission is “to relieve suffering and give hope to those living with chronic lung diseases, to advance knowledge, and to train the next generation of leaders in respiratory medicine and thoracic surgery,” said Joao de Andrade, MD, VLI chief medical officer.

Hoetzenecker, VLI surgical director, said, “In the future, we plan to further strengthen VUMC as a multiregional referral center for lung transplantation. Based on our unique group of internationally renowned experts and a large, dedicated team, we can offer lung transplants to complex patients who are considered too high risk for smaller, less experienced programs. This includes retransplants, multiorgan transplants and transplants for patients already on mechanical support (ECMO).”

Cutline: Brandon Petree, MD, and Caitlin Demarest, MD, PhD, operate on a patient during a recent double lung transplant. (photo by Erin O. Smith)

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