Manivel Arumugam1 , Ramanathan Palaniappan Ramanathan2 , Jnanesh Thacker3 , Srinivas Rajagopala3 , Pitchaimani Govindharaj4 2Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, PSG Hospitals, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
3Department of Pulmonary Medicine, PSG Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, PSG Hospitals, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
4Department of Allied Health Sciences, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (DU), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract
Lung transplantation is now the standard of care for nonreversible end-stage lung disease and leads to dramatic improvements in pulmonary function, quality of life, and survival. Pretransplant pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) can optimize potential recipients and widen or open a “transplant window” period. Given the potential for long wait times in our country, ongoing PR is crucial to ensure recipient fitness. Postoperative rehabilitation is an integral part of care of the recipient and may extend beyond hospital discharge. We present the case of a 42-year-old female who underwent bilateral lung transplantation for advanced interstitial lung disease and discuss the challenges and our approach to PR in this setting.
