Belarus’ first pulmonary artery allotransplantation performed in Brest

Belarus’ first allotransplantation of a pulmonary artery has been conducted in the Brest Regional Hospital, BelTA has learnt from head of the cardiothoracic surgery department of the hospital Rostislav Boufalik.

The allograft recipient was a 59-year old resident of Brest Oblast. The man was diagnosed with an advanced lung cancer. The patient needed a major surgery to remove the tumor. However, the examination suggested that the patient was unlikely to survive pneumonectomy (removal of the lung).

“Other options included a lung autograft surgery. However, we decided in favor of a less traumatic option: to remove the lung lobe and the section of the pulmonary artery affected by the tumor and to replace them with a donor allograft. This surgery is simpler, but has the same effect. More than that, it allows considerably reducing the risk of post-surgery complications,” Rostislav Boufalik said.

The team of surgeons was led by Doctor of Medicine, Professor, Head of the Hospital Alexander Karpitsky. The surgery lasted less than three hours. Two allografts from a non-identical donor were implanted on the pulmonary artery of the patient. No complications occurred during and after the surgery. The further treatment will be provided outpatiently. According to the doctor, the patient can move without dyspnea and perform simple work. In other words, the quality of his life has improved.

The surgeons are going to get a patent for the methods they used to conduct this allotransplantation. “We have searched for similar surgeries in the Internet and it looks like such surgeries are not performed anywhere else, including in Belarus. We have conducted the first surgery of this kind, and I hope it will not be the last,” Rostislav Boufalik said. Since the cardiothoracic surgery department was opened in the hospital 12 years ago, its surgeons have received six patents for their unique methods.

Every year over 600 people are diagnosed with lung cancer in Brest Oblast. Major surgeries can be conducted in 35-40% of the cases.