Gleneagles Hospital Chennai Performs Rare Bilateral Lobar Lung Transplant on One of India's Shortest Female Recipients

Chennai: A woman from Delhi, standing just 148 cm tall, has undergone a rare bilateral lobar lung transplant at Gleneagles Hospital, Chennai, making her one of the shortest female recipients of this type of lung transplant in India.

The patient was suffering from interstitial lung disease and pulmonary fibrosis and required continuous oxygen support of 10 kg per minute. After waiting over 10 months for a suitable donor, her deteriorating condition led doctors to opt for a lobar lung transplant, a complex surgery rarely done in individuals with such a small chest cavity.

The transplant was performed on May 26, using donor lungs from Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital. The operation, which lasted more than eight hours, was carried out by a team led by Dr Govini Balasubramani, Director of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, and Dr Apar Jindal, Director - Lung Transplant and Sleep Medicine, Gleneagles Hospital Chennai.

"This surgery was challenging due to the patient’s small chest volume. Performing a lobar transplant required precise donor-recipient matching and intricate surgical technique," said Dr Govini Balasubramani. "The success of this case demonstrates our team’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge care tailored to individual patient needs," he added.

In this procedure, the lower lobes of both donor lungs were transplanted to accommodate the patient’s small chest cavity.

Within 22 hours of the surgery, the patient was weaned off the ventilator and was able to breathe on her own, without oxygen support for the first time in years. She was discharged from the hospital within a week of the operation.

Dr Nageshwar Rao, CEO, Gleneagles Hospital Chennai, said, "We are proud to achieve another milestone in complex transplant care. This case showcases not just our surgical excellence, but also our patient-first approach, where even the most delicate and rare cases are handled with utmost precision. This successful procedure reinforces Gleneagles Hospital Chennai as a national leader in lung transplantation and advanced thoracic surgeries."