Surgeons have used double-D breast implants and artificial lungs to save the life of a man with severe lung damage.
The quick thinking of the team prolonged the life of Missouri patient Davey Bauer until a lung donor was found 24 hours later.
The surgical team at Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute in Chicago performed the procedure using artificial lungs and two breast implants to reverse the fortunes of the patient whose health had been compromised by his 10-year vaping habit.
They removed the 34-year-old patient’s infected lungs, created an artificial lung to keep him alive, placed DD breast implants inside his chest cavity to keep the heart in place, and listed him for a double-lung transplant, finding a match within 24 hours.
The drama started when Davey’s health worsened drastically while suffering from the flu. He was taken to hospital, where he then developed a lung infection. His only chance for survival was to get a double lung transplant.
The damage to his lungs became so extensive that doctors put him on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation to pump and oxygenate his blood from outside his body.
But it wasn’t enough. Transferred to Northwestern Medicine, he suffered a cardiac arrest.
Dr Ankit Bharat, chief of thoracic surgery, takes up the story.
‘It was very clear to me that he needed a double lung transplant. But it was also very clear that he would not survive that transplant. We had to quickly come up with a strategy to maintain his normal blood flow in the body for his heart using artificial devices,’ he told NBC News.
The out-of-the-box solution was to use DD breast implants and artificial lungs.
The medical team swiftly formulated a plan to extract the diseased lungs and create a synthetic lung capable of connecting to Bauer's body, ensuring continuous blood flow to the heart while maintaining perfusion to his brain and other organs.
Following the removal of both lungs, surgeons faced the challenge of preventing Bauer's heart from collapsing within the chest cavity. This is where the concept of DD breast implants emerged as a solution.
‘One of our plastic surgeons was very gracious to give me a rapid course on the different types, shapes and sizes of breast implants, so we picked out a couple of options that were more malleable to mould to Davey’s chest.’
Artificial lungs outside his body allowed him to continue breathing while circulating blood to his heart. Within hours, his condition improved.
A few days later, lungs from a donor replaced the implants, and he is now on the road to recovery. Davey said he feels ‘blessed’ at getting a ‘second chance at life’.
He added: ‘I plan to get a t-shirt with DD Davey on it and change all my gaming profiles. But in all seriousness, I’m so proud to be the first Northwestern Medicine patient to undergo this innovative procedure. I hope this medical first paves the way for more critically ill patients to receive lung transplants soon.’
Surgeons believe the new method could prolong the lives of many more patients with severe lung infections, enabling medical teams to remove the infected and damaged lungs and replace them with implants to keep patients alive until they get a donor match.
Photo caption: Dr Ankit Bharat and Davey Bauer. The surgical team removed Davey's infected lungs and placed DD breast implants inside the chest cavity.
