Current status of lung transplantation in Korea
Yong Ho Jeong, Dong Kwan Kim, Sehoon Choi
Abstract
The first LT was performed in June 1963 by Hardy of the University of Mississippi (1), and LT has since become the main treatment for end-stage lung disease. The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) reported 4,452 LTs performed in 2017, globally (2). In Korea, the first LT was performed in 1996 (3) at Severance Hospital; the patient underwent a single lung transplant to treat pulmonary fibrosis, but died 82 days later because of infection (3). The number of LTs did not increase significantly thereafter. However, in 2011, the number of LTs increased to 35, which was nearly double the number of cases (n=18) reported in 2010 (4) (Figure This was due to a national outbreak of acute respiratory distress caused by humidifier disinfectant-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD). In February 2011, several young patients were hospitalized in the intensive care units (ICUs) for respiratory distress with no obvious cause.