Lung transplantation in pulmonary arterial hypertension

Andrew Fisher
Newcastle University Medical School, Newcastle, United Kingdom

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rarer but not infrequent indication for lung transplantation however as pharmacological treatment of PAH has improved then the place and timing of lung transplantation for this indication has evolved. Lung transplantation continues to provide the only option for selected patients with PAH when medical treatment has failed to control disease, and patients develop life threatening right heart failure.

There are specific challenges and risks of lung transplantation in this group, including access to donor organs in a timely manner, choice of transplant procedure, bridging patients who deteriorate rapidly and early and late complications after lung transplantation. In this presentation will be an overview of the existing data from national and international registries, a review of key challenges and a look to what the future role of lung transplantation for PAH is.