Ochsner Lung Transplant Program Re-opened: Closed After Hurricane Katrina
NEW ORLEANS - On February 4, 2010, 39-year-old Cheryl Guillory, of Lafayette, LA, became the first patient in nearly five years to receive a lung transplant at the newly reopened Ochsner Lung Transplant Program, 1514 Jefferson Highway. In November 2005, Ochsner closed its program due to the after effects of Hurricane Katrina and recently restored the program in October 2009. The Ochsner lung transplantation program is the only one in Louisiana and Mississippi; the closest programs are located in Birmingham, Alabama and Houston, Texas.
"Like much of our city and the Gulf Coast region, time is healing the wounds of Hurricane Katrina and we are now bringing back even the most rare and complex transplant operations," says Dr. George Loss, transplant surgeon and Chief of the Ochsner Multi-Organ Transplant Institute. "Transplant operations are a true team approach in every sense of the word, as exemplified by Ochsner's comprehensive corps of medical professionals and the hospital's commitment to provide resources for such complex operations."
Cheryl Guillory's medical challenges began in May 2007 when she was diagnosed with stage four Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH). PPH occurs due to increased pressure in the pulmonary arteries; the arteries that carry blood from your heart to your lungs and the rest of the body. Cheryl's condition caused her heart to weaken and fluid to continuously build up in her body, requiring her to frequently undergo diuresis at Ochsner in New Orleans.
"As Cheryl's condition worsened in January (2010), we knew it was time to place her on the lung transplant waiting list," says Dr. Reinaldo Rampolla, Co-Director of Lung Transplantation at Ochsner Medical Center. Dr. Rampolla and Ochsner Cardiologist Dr. Hamang Patel are Cheryl's physicians' pre-and post-transplant.
On February 4, 2010, the team of transplant surgeon Dr. Michael Bates, cardiothoracic surgeons Dr. Abbas Abbas and Dr. Gene Parrino, and specially-trained thoracic anesthesiologists Jason Falterman and Eric Busch, gave Cheryl a new set of lungs and a new lease on life. "While lung transplant surgeries are definitely more rare that kidney, liver or heart, what makes these patients unique is that they are often the most ill of all recipients; therefore the surgeries can be risky and far between," explains Dr. Bates. Lungs are the most difficult organs to manage and that it takes an extraordinary team effort to allow these fragile organs to be transplanted. He adds that Cheryl was an excellent candidate and she's had a smooth recovery with the help of expertly-trained transplant nurses.
After 15 years as an LPN, Cheryl hopes to work again, but not as nurse. Instead, she says, "I want to be a social worker and use my experience as a transplant patient to help others understand the need for donation and to help transplant patients through the waiting and recovery process." Dr. Bates affirms, "We are thankful to organ donors and their families for these incredible gifts." The most important step to become an organ donor is to make your wishes known by registering at www.lopa.org or making your wishes known to family members.
Ochsner is a Medicare-approved transplant center for heart, liver, and kidney transplantation and is a Center of Excellence for most insurers. Ochsner performs ongoing clinical and laboratory research representing all aspects of transplantation. For more information, call Ochsner's 24-hour Transplant Hotline at 1-800-643-1635.
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