Lungs

Turkish teenager Tugce Basar (1st image, with her mother), 15,and German schoolboy Marius Schneider (2nd image, with his family), 12, got rare operations this year. Each is diagnosed - along with 70,000 worldwide  - with Cystic Fibrosis. CF is a chronic incurable genetic lung condition that produces an excess of mucus which gradually fills the lungs, reducing and eventually stopping the ability to breathe normally.  If a patient's life is threatened, surgeons carry out a transplant.

His
Live double lung transplant surgery was performed in April 2012 at Hanover Medical University by renowned German transplant surgeon Axel Haverich. German boy Marius Schneider received a lung from each of his parents. By the time of the operation, he was surviving with the aid of a ventilator and a heart-lung machine. "It was immediately clear what we had to do in order to save our son," said his mother Anja. The 3-way 6-hour procedure was followed by 155 days in the hospital for Marius and 10 days for his parents. Said Dr. Gregor Warnecke, who was in charge of his care, ''The transplant was his last chance. The hospital would not have operated on his parents if it had not been an absolute necessity....But he is a real fighter. We had a team of 40 and he came through."

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Live double lung transplant surgery was performed in March 2012 at AKH Hospital in Vienna
Turkish schoolgirl Tugce Basar received part of her father's rights lung and part of her mother's left lung to form one new, healthy lung. By the time of the operation, she had been hospitalized for nearly a year after both of her lungs stopped working properly. "I just want her to be happy and healthy. I want her to be able to things a normal 15-year-old can," said her father Tarcan. The 3-way 9-hour procedure was followed by 2 months in the hospital for Tugce, who comments, "I know I will beat this. I will survive the operation and my life will be so much better when it is done and I have recovered."

Marius and Tugce were lucky on 2 counts: both parents had compatible blood groups and lungs that were bigger than those of their children, which is a requirement for a successful transplant.

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