is being in really good shape bad for a double lung transplant?
- Thread starter enzo
- Start date
ContinuallyRefined
New member
They don't cut through much muscle as the incision is between ribs below pecks. Transplant is a last ditch effort to save a life. I don't recommend putting much thought into it until you're closer to being a candidate. I've been below 50% lung function for 14 years and have been considering transplant since below 30%. Go out and enjoy those lungs with some good exercise 
beautifulsoul
Super Moderator
I don't think that has anything to do with the doctor's doing the surgery.
Dpending on the person & situation, most people would not have a body like that before a double lung transplant. You would have to be sick enough to the point of not being able to do extreme exercise.
Dpending on the person & situation, most people would not have a body like that before a double lung transplant. You would have to be sick enough to the point of not being able to do extreme exercise.
cftransplant
New member
Duke puts you in daily PT before a TX and considers the better shape you are in, the better outcome. You do PT prior to TX and post TX, in a gym, five days a week for around 3-5 hours.
CF-TX 62 cepacia 12 years out
CF-TX 62 cepacia 12 years out
beautifulsoul
Super Moderator
I didn't do any of that before I was transplanted. I'm still doing well. I know some centers are a bit stricter than others.
CrisDopher
New member
Dave, pardon my bluntness, but your assertion is pure BS. I know several transplanted cystics who hit the OR in great shape in every regard EXCEPT for their lungs. They worked long and hard to make sure that was so. It is possible to run, bicycle, do yoga, swim, and weightlift on oxygen. I'm not saying that's true for every patient, but to say that by the time you are transplanted you'll be a wasted shell of your former self is simply not necessarily true.
Enzo - bulk up all you want. They make scalpels and rib spreaders for a reason.
Enzo - bulk up all you want. They make scalpels and rib spreaders for a reason.
coltsfan715
New member
I agree with what the others have posted in most aspects. I did want to point out that not ALL centers do a clam shell incision though most do. My center prefers the bilateral thoracotomy incision (two incisions on your side/back) They do cut through muscle and it does make healing a little awkward as they cut through the muscle and it takes some time for it to be completely usable again.
Also as mentioned the better shape you are in pre transplant the better you will fair post transplant. My docs have told me that they really emphasize leg strength pre transplant because it is very important to maintain leg strength for your recovery post transplant. They encourage you to get up and walking as soon as possible post transplant. With a lung transplant you have to work to get your airways open. Unlike with most organ transplant where the organ starts functioning as it is supposed to without a ton of help from the patient lungs need our help. They start working, but not to their full capacity. It is up to the patient to be healthy enough to get up and walk/exercise in order to open the airways and improve lung function.
Either way I am sure you are fine - I have never heard a doc say that a "healthier" transplant patient was a bad thing, so keep working hard and it will only help you in the long run.
Lindsey
Also as mentioned the better shape you are in pre transplant the better you will fair post transplant. My docs have told me that they really emphasize leg strength pre transplant because it is very important to maintain leg strength for your recovery post transplant. They encourage you to get up and walking as soon as possible post transplant. With a lung transplant you have to work to get your airways open. Unlike with most organ transplant where the organ starts functioning as it is supposed to without a ton of help from the patient lungs need our help. They start working, but not to their full capacity. It is up to the patient to be healthy enough to get up and walk/exercise in order to open the airways and improve lung function.
Either way I am sure you are fine - I have never heard a doc say that a "healthier" transplant patient was a bad thing, so keep working hard and it will only help you in the long run.
Lindsey
CrisDopher
New member
Lindsey, I've been wondering about what really happens after transplant in regards to breath training. I am not so sure it's the lungs we have to work so hard to "open up". Pretty sure they're ready to go, especially after viewing videos of lungs in the ex-vivo perfusion machine and seeing them definitely inflate and deflate a great deal!
Rather, I suspect it is our diaphragms that need extensive re-training. After all, we've just spent years unable to draw deep or quick breaths - like any muscle, our diaphragms will de-train. But, given a renewed lung capacity to work with, we can certainly re-train the diaphragm to pull bigger and bigger lungfuls of air, faster and faster until we hit a peak near or exceeding normal capacity.
Rather, I suspect it is our diaphragms that need extensive re-training. After all, we've just spent years unable to draw deep or quick breaths - like any muscle, our diaphragms will de-train. But, given a renewed lung capacity to work with, we can certainly re-train the diaphragm to pull bigger and bigger lungfuls of air, faster and faster until we hit a peak near or exceeding normal capacity.
JustaCFmom
New member
I just saw this today, and it is really inspiring...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztccRF91i1Y He flashes his incisions from the surgery.
I read one article that said the surgery went much easier because he was in such good shape.
Look into Jerry Cahill "(Follow Jerry through the CF Podcasts (www.jerrycahill.com), CF WindSprints (www.cfwindsprints.com), and via Twitter (@bigair)"
I read one article that said the surgery went much easier because he was in such good shape.
Look into Jerry Cahill "(Follow Jerry through the CF Podcasts (www.jerrycahill.com), CF WindSprints (www.cfwindsprints.com), and via Twitter (@bigair)"
coltsfan715
New member
I agree with you that our breathe training does help a lot. I actually couldn't do much pre transplant and asked the pulm rehab team what I could do to get off the vent as quickly as possible post transplant. They gave me breathing exercises to do and they helped a great deal. I was awake and off the vent within 3 hours of the end of my surgery. That being said it took 6 months and it takes some patients a yr to increase their lung capacity to its maximum.
Though breathing does help and yes I have seen videos of lungs being transplanted and inflation and deflation as well. You have to take into account that you are seeing an entire organ and there are many airways in our lungs. Due to the trauma of surgery there is work to be done on our end to help assist our lungs in expanding all the airways, our bodies removing all the fluid that hangs around and so on. So yes I am sure that breathing patterns and diaphragm usage is important it is not the only thing. The docs explained it to me after my transplant and shortly before because I was struggling with pulm rehab due to muscle fatigue. They said that anything I can do in order to improve stamina - take deeper breaths and such will help to improve lung function by opening airways. Essentially if you can do things to cause deeper breathing yes it may be all you need, but one of the best ways for us to improve our breathing is exercise.
Also there is a patient at my center that started playing the harmonica and it has helped him to improve his lung function. for me I struggle with methods like that and prefer the exercise route.
Good luck
Though breathing does help and yes I have seen videos of lungs being transplanted and inflation and deflation as well. You have to take into account that you are seeing an entire organ and there are many airways in our lungs. Due to the trauma of surgery there is work to be done on our end to help assist our lungs in expanding all the airways, our bodies removing all the fluid that hangs around and so on. So yes I am sure that breathing patterns and diaphragm usage is important it is not the only thing. The docs explained it to me after my transplant and shortly before because I was struggling with pulm rehab due to muscle fatigue. They said that anything I can do in order to improve stamina - take deeper breaths and such will help to improve lung function by opening airways. Essentially if you can do things to cause deeper breathing yes it may be all you need, but one of the best ways for us to improve our breathing is exercise.
Also there is a patient at my center that started playing the harmonica and it has helped him to improve his lung function. for me I struggle with methods like that and prefer the exercise route.
Good luck