Pulmonary artery transplant: how Sant'Andrea in Rome comes first in the world
The patient had an infiltrating lung tumour: the operation was possible thanks to the availability of an entire cryopreserved pulmonary artery at the Tissue Bank in Barcelona
Key points
As the first in the world, the thoracic surgery of the Sant'Andrea University Hospital in Rome, a university polyclinic of the Sapienza University of Rome network and a highly specialised company of the Lazio Region, has crossed the finishing line by performing an operation of excellence: a pulmonary artery transplant in an over-70s patient with a lung tumour infiltrating the pulmonary artery associated with the removal of the entire left lung.
An operation that has received the applause of Health Minister Orazio Schillaci, according to whom Sant'Andrea 'confirms the excellence of public health in Lazio and Italy on the international scene. This transplant demonstrates once again the high quality of Italian training and expertise in the scientific and health fields. All this is a source of great pride for public health and for the whole of Italy'.
The timing
L’operazione è avvenuta «grazie alla intuizione di due giovani chirurghe toraciche, Cecilia Menna e Beatrice Trabalza Marinucci», sottolineano dall’azienda ospedaliera universitaria, ed è stato eseguito da un team guidato Erino Rendina, Direttore della Chirurgia toracica del Sant’Andrea e Preside della Facoltà di Medicina e Psicologia di Sapienza Università di Roma.
L’intervento chirurgico è iniziato alle ore 12 del 17 luglio scorso. Grazie a sofisticate tecniche di anestesia, è stata istituita la circolazione extracorporea e il cuore è stato arrestato. L’arteria polmonare malata è stata rimossa nella sua totalità in associazione all’intero polmone di sinistra e a una porzione di trachea. Successivamente è iniziata la delicata fase di ricostruzione della trachea e della via aerea. Solo a questo punto è stato possibile procedere con il trapianto di arteria polmonare vero e proprio che è stata sostituita con il segmento
L’intervento
The pulmonary artery transplant, authorised by the National Transplant Centre, was illustrated by Professor Rendina and Dr. Menna, thoracic surgeon at the Aou Sant'Andrea, who explained in detail what had happened, in the presence of Rector Antonella Polimeni, Lazio Region President Francesco Rocca, Health Minister's Chief of Staff Marco Mattei, and Sant'Andrea University Hospital CEO Francesca Milito.
The patient had a lung tumour infiltrating the pulmonary artery and in the months leading up to the operation she had undergone chemotherapy and immunotherapy, an innovative combination of molecularly targeted drugs that produced a marked reduction in tumour size.
After careful and meticulous planning over the preceding weeks, it was possible to operate on the patient thanks to the availability of an entire cryopreserved pulmonary artery at the Tissue Bank in Barcelona.
