Respiratory control during independent lung ventilation

We describe the case of a lung transplant patient with primary graft failur e and an emphysematous native lung, who displayed different respiratory rat es between the transplanted lung and the native lung. Inflation of the nati ve lung delayed the next inspiratory effort relative to inflation of the de nervated transplanted lung. Synchronous inflation of both lungs required mo re pressure in each lung than,vhen that lung was inflated with. the contral ateral lung near functional residual capacity, suggesting the two lungs com pete for space within the thoracic cavity.