Hmm.
You might try the bare facts at MedLine Encyclopedia, which gives the government line.
My understanding is that transplanted organs are always rejected by the body in some way... what makes a transplant "successful" is that immunosuppressive drugs can successfully stop the immune system from destroying the organ the way it wants to.
There have been recent advances in detecting when this happens, and some great leaps forward in the drug therapy, but if your father is likely to get put off by the mere mention of the term "rejection," then it's going to be really hard to find reports that he'll like.
From this thorough overview of the subject (with a special focus on surgery for children):
OUTCOME AND PROGNOSIS
The 1-year survival rate for pediatric lung transplant recipients is approximately 80%. The 3-year survival rate after transplant is now 65%. The most common causes of death within the first 30 days posttransplant are graft failure, infection, and hemorrhage. In the later posttransplant period, OB* and infection are the most common reasons for death.
Approximately 80% of survivors have no physical limitations 1 year after transplant, and quality of life is improved markedly. However, eventually, one half of all survivors develop BOS.**
FUTURE AND CONTROVERSIES
In summary, lung transplantation is a suitable alternative for patients with end-stage lung disease. Transplantation, by its very essence, implies lifelong medical management. It is not a cure. It is a trade. Patients trade their end-stage lung disease for transplant lung disease with the hopes that it can be better managed.
Survival statistics have improved dramatically over the past 15 years. However, a variety of imposing obstacles keeps physicians from obtaining the long-term results they seek.
Rejection and, specifically, OB remain major hurdles to overcome. The development of better immunosuppressants or, better yet, the development of agents that allow for immunologic tolerance would certainly provide improved clinical outcomes and potentially reduce the risk of infection. An improved understanding of the mechanism of lung injury during brain death and during transition from donor to recipient one day may lead to techniques and preservation solutions that prevent ischemia-reperfusion injury. Finally, the organ donor shortage must be addressed. Too many patients die on the waiting list and never receive that second chance at life.
*OB=Bronchiolitis obliterans and ** BOS=Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome are two ways of talking about essentially the same thing, in which airways gradually get obstructed by "granulation tissue". It's apparently a fancy way of saying "rejected."
So, in other words, it's cutting-edge science. They're doing a lot of work on it, and chances will only improve in time. If you put survival rates from the operation on a chart, starting 15 years ago and ending now, you'd see a really steep climb.
There are more technical articles here, at MedLine. I don't think you can get full texts, but there's a pulldown menu option to get abstracts for the articles. Some have links to the full text. |
