ABSTRACT
The first human lung transplant is credited to Hardy and colleagues (1), who performed this procedure in 1963. The patient suffered from emphysema and lung cancer and would not have survived resection without transplantation. Unfortunately, the patient died on the 18th postoperative day, raising questions about the utility of this procedure. Nearly 20 years passed before lung transplantation was finally successful. With significant improvement in survival and functional outcomes since Hardy’s first attempt, this procedure is now a widely accepted therapeutic option for patients with end-stage lung disease (2). As with other solid organ transplants, the success of lung transplantation followed the introduction of the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine A in the early 1980s (3). Since then, with some modifications to the surgical technique, lung transplantation is now performed routinely to prolong the life and functional capabilities of patients with end-stage lung disorders.
