“One of the lungs’ many functions is to keep the heart in place,” Bharat told The Washington Post. “We had to strategize. So we ended up using breast implants. These are the largest implants that can be placed in a human body.”
this is First used by a doctor at Northwestern Medicine Artificial lungs and breast implants to support double lung transplantation. A creative strategy saved Bauer’s life. But this unique solution was also uniquely suited to Bauer’s case, and his perfectly sized chest cavity. Bharat says this may not become a widespread standard, but it is a viable option in difficult cases.
“This milestone helped us understand that there are potential strategies to accommodate patients who need a lung transplant but whose lung damage is too severe to undergo that procedure. ” said Mr. Bharat.
Bauer, who loved snowboarding and skateboarding and worked in a landscaping business near St. Louis, started smoking cigarettes when he was 21. I switched to e-cigs in 2014 because I thought they were better.
Health officials largely disagree. We’ve been sounding the alarm about e-cigarettes for years. Many have expressed concern about the uncertain long-term effects of popular cigarette alternatives on healthy young people like Bauer.
Bharat said his medical opinion was that Bauer’s history of e-cigarette use likely contributed to his serious condition.
Bauer came down with the flu in April. He had difficulty moving and he could not breathe properly. On April 16, his girlfriend Susan Gore took him to the emergency room. According to Bauer, that’s the last thing he remembers until he woke up two months later with new lungs.
“It was definitely overwhelming at first because Susan and the whole family were around me. It was kind of a slow process to understand what happened,” Bauer said. But, he added, it’s “pretty amazing” to know he survived. “It was truly a miracle that I was still alive and that I was able to wake up and hear that story.”
Bauer was initially admitted to a St. Louis hospital, where he remained. put into a medical coma, be imitating device The heart and lungs pump blood and provide oxygen. But Bauer’s condition continued to deteriorate, and it became clear that a double lung transplant was his only option for survival.
Bauer was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where Bharat’s team removed the patient’s infected lung, created an artificial lung, and placed a DD breast implant in Bauer’s chest cavity to prevent her heart from collapsing. We brainstormed strategies to do so.
Within a day, Bauer’s body began to clear the infection and he was a candidate for a double lung transplant, Bharat said. The team received the new lungs on May 27, and the next day the breast implants were removed and the donor lungs were inserted. Bauer spent several months recovering in intensive care and was released from the hospital in late September.
Bauer and Gore remain in Chicago for rehabilitation treatment under the supervision of a medical team, but both say they look forward to returning to their lives in Missouri.
For Susan, who had witnessed months of ordeal, Bauer’s recovery was nothing short of miraculous.
“Every time I saw his toes wiggle, I started crying,” she said, recalling Bauer’s journey from being in a wheelchair to “walking without a walker.”
Bauer plans to never vape again and can’t wait to get back to snowboarding.
“I feel a lot like the person I was before all this happened. I’m still trying to get my strength back, but other than that, I’m here and I’m grateful to be here.” he said.