Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about heart and lung

transplants.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero definals.com slash heart and lung transplant

or in the cardiothoracic surgery section of the zero

de finals surgery book so let's get straight into it heart and lung transplants will inevitably come

from a recently deceased donor it's not possible to do a living heart and lung transplant

the demand for donor hearts and lungs outweighs the supply.

Let's talk about the indications. The most common indication for a heart transplant is

congestive heart failure, which can be secondary to eschemic heart disease, cardiomyopathy,

or congenital heart disease.

The most common indications for a lung transplant are chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD,

pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension.

Let's talk about the variations.

There are several ways that hearts and lungs can be transplanted.

There may be a single lung transplant, a double lung transplant,

a heart transplant or a heart lung transplant.

A double lung transplant can be performed as bilateral single lung transplants where one lung is transplanted and then the other, or an on-block

transplant where both the lungs are implanted together. Bilateral single-lung transplants are

generally preferred over on-block transplants where both lungs are

implanted together. Next let's talk about the incisions. There are three main incisions. A lateral

thoracotomy incision may be used for single lung transplants, a midline stenotomy incision may be used

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