Bilateral Lung Transplantation in Patients With Severe Chest Asymmetry: A Case Series From a Single Center

Suppurative lung diseases leading to end-stage respiratory failure are typical indications for bilateral lung transplantation (LuTx). Some cases may present severe chest asymmetry because of recurrent infections or previous surgical procedures, and the most used surgical options are single LuTx and contralateral pneumonectomy or bilateral transplantation with graft downsizing. Our purpose is to evaluate our treatment protocols for these patients and review surgical strategies reported by others.

We prospectively collected clinical data of patients with significant pleural cavity asymmetry who underwent bilateral LuTx at our center from 2017 to 2022. Clinical reports of all patients who underwent LuTx for end-stage suppurative disease in the same period were reviewed as the control group.

During the study period, 74 patients underwent bilateral LuTx for suppurative disease; seven of them presented with severe thoracic asymmetry, and all of them were extubated by the second postoperative day. The mean intensive care unit stay was 4 days. The postoperative radiological evaluation did not show clustering or atelectasis of the graft implanted in the smaller hemithorax. No perioperative major complications were recorded, and the average length of stay was 23 days. The perioperative course appeared remarkably good, and both the short- and long-term follow-up were similar to that of the control group.