About the Lung Transplant Program
Our Experience
UPMC's clinical experience and dedicated support resources allow its specialists to accept many patients as lung transplant candidates that other centers may decline. Coronary artery disease, Burkholderia infection in people with cystic fibrosis, advanced age, and scleroderma do not necessarily disqualify a person as a recipient. Few centers in the world can approach UPMC's experience with such difficult-to-transplant patients. Other UPMC capabilities include an antirejection-drug-weaning protocol that helps minimize doses and associated side effects from these lifesaving but powerful drugs.
Our team also has extensive experience with combined heart-lung transplantation. Since the first combined heart-lung transplant at UPMC in 1982, our surgeons have performed more than 130 total combined heart-lung transplant procedures. Additionally, our team has expertise in surgical repair of the heart at the time of lung transplant if coronary artery disease is the indication.
UPMC surgeons have long been at the forefront of novel lung surgery procedures, having contributed to advancements in lung volume reduction surgery and, most recently, pioneering minimally invasive lung transplantation -- always with the goal of helping patients achieve a better quality of life.
Our Success
The program offers a unique combination of long-standing institutional commitment to transplantation, availability of investigational therapies, and comprehensive expertise for ancillary care — all which benefit patients.
UPMC specialists have made a concerted effort to reach the best outcomes in the nation — a collaborative effort that is effective and has contributed to UPMC's ranking among the top 10 respiratory programs in U.S. News & World Report's annual survey.
Our Outcomes
At UPMC, our outcomes have met or exceeded national averages. As a pioneer in the field of solid-organ transplantation, our program has been consistently challenged with some of the most difficult and complex cases. Our surgeons and specialists have used this experience to develop advancements that have resulted in new and improved treatment modalities for our patients, including high-risk patients with concomitant cardiac diseases such as coronary artery disease, valvular, and congenital heart disease; cystic fibrosis with high-risk pathogens; scleroderma; and advanced age.
To view information about our outcomes, please visit the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients site.