TY - JOUR
T1 - Critical Care and Postoperative Management of the First Human Long Segment Orthotopic Tracheal Transplantation
AU - Chopra, Aparna
AU - Oropello, John M.
AU - Wang, Jennifer
AU - Mo, Edwin
AU - Kohli-Seth, Roopa
AU - Genden, Eric M.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Jeffrey Mechanick, MD, for his care and insights into the endocrine management of the patient.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 The Authors.
PY - 2022/12/1
Y1 - 2022/12/1
N2 - OBJECTIVES: To outline the postoperative management of a long segment tracheal transplant in the ICU setting. DESIGN: The recipient required reconstruction of a long segment tracheal defect from a previous prolonged intubation. A male donor was chosen for a female recipient to enable analysis of the reepithelialization kinetics using fluorescence in situ hybridization to analyze the source of the new ciliated epithelium. SETTING: Transplant ICU at the Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY. PATIENTS: The female recipient was previously intubated for an asthma exacerbation and subsequently developed long segment tracheal stenosis and failed conventional management including dilatation, stenting, and six major surgical procedures rendering her chronically tracheostomy-dependent. The male donor suffered a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage and was subsequently pronounced brain dead. Organ procurement occurred after obtaining appropriate consent from the patient's family. INTERVENTIONS: The patient received a deceased donor tracheal allograft that included the thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, and the muscularis of the cervical and thoracic esophagus. Triple therapy immunosuppression (tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and a corticosteroid taper) was maintained. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The patient was initially managed postoperatively with deep sedation on ventilator via armored/reinforced endotracheal tube placed through a small tracheostomy located along the superior tracheal anastomosis. Serial bronchoscopies were performed for graft assessment, pulmonary toilet, and biopsies, which initially showed acute inflammatory changes but no features of acute allograft rejection. A euthyroid state was maintained but hypercalcemia developed. CONCLUSIONS: The ICU management of this first long segment orthotopic tracheal transplant required a multidisciplinary approach involving critical care, otolaryngology, transplant surgery, interventional pulmonary, endocrinology, 1:1 nursing throughout the recipient's transplant ICU stay, and respiratory therapy that resulted in the successful establishment of a viable tracheal airway and heralded the end of chronic tracheostomy dependence.
AB - OBJECTIVES: To outline the postoperative management of a long segment tracheal transplant in the ICU setting. DESIGN: The recipient required reconstruction of a long segment tracheal defect from a previous prolonged intubation. A male donor was chosen for a female recipient to enable analysis of the reepithelialization kinetics using fluorescence in situ hybridization to analyze the source of the new ciliated epithelium. SETTING: Transplant ICU at the Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY. PATIENTS: The female recipient was previously intubated for an asthma exacerbation and subsequently developed long segment tracheal stenosis and failed conventional management including dilatation, stenting, and six major surgical procedures rendering her chronically tracheostomy-dependent. The male donor suffered a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage and was subsequently pronounced brain dead. Organ procurement occurred after obtaining appropriate consent from the patient's family. INTERVENTIONS: The patient received a deceased donor tracheal allograft that included the thyroid gland, parathyroid glands, and the muscularis of the cervical and thoracic esophagus. Triple therapy immunosuppression (tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and a corticosteroid taper) was maintained. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The patient was initially managed postoperatively with deep sedation on ventilator via armored/reinforced endotracheal tube placed through a small tracheostomy located along the superior tracheal anastomosis. Serial bronchoscopies were performed for graft assessment, pulmonary toilet, and biopsies, which initially showed acute inflammatory changes but no features of acute allograft rejection. A euthyroid state was maintained but hypercalcemia developed. CONCLUSIONS: The ICU management of this first long segment orthotopic tracheal transplant required a multidisciplinary approach involving critical care, otolaryngology, transplant surgery, interventional pulmonary, endocrinology, 1:1 nursing throughout the recipient's transplant ICU stay, and respiratory therapy that resulted in the successful establishment of a viable tracheal airway and heralded the end of chronic tracheostomy dependence.
KW - critical care
KW - human
KW - respiratory insufficiency
KW - trachea
KW - transplantation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85143668964&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/CCE.0000000000000809
DO - 10.1097/CCE.0000000000000809
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85143668964
SN - 2639-8028
VL - 4
SP - E0809
JO - Critical Care Explorations
JF - Critical Care Explorations
IS - 12
ER -