PERIOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT IN LUNG TRANSPLANTATION

The perioperative management of the lung transplant recipient requires close collaboration on the part of all members of the transplantation team, meticulous attention to detail, and careful monitoring for comp lications. A general perioperative treatment plan is reviewed in this article, and a synopsis is included that discusses the most frequently occurring complications. Despite the many potential pitfalls which ma y arise during the perioperative period, a comprehensive multidiscipli nary approach to the management of these patients with complications r esults in an uneventful postoperative course, with discharge home with in 10 to 14 days in the majority of patients.