THE TECHNICAL feasibility of lung transplantation has been established, and the immunological barriers to organ transplantation are yielding to the intense research effort now in progress. However, more information is needed regarding the effects of transplantation upon the functional integrity of the lung. Study of the autotransplanted lung avoids the variables introduced by the immune response and permits an evaluation of the effects upon lung function of the transplantation procedure itself. As yet, almost no reports have appeared in which comparative functional studies of the lung were conducted in the same animals before and after lung autotransplantation.
This report presents the results of differential measurements of oxygen uptake, tidal volume, functional residual capacity (FRC) and pulmonary compliance, which were conducted before and after autotransplantation of the left lung.
Methods
Four mongrel dogs, each weighing approximately 22 kg (49 lb), were studied preoperatively and again four to six weeks following autotransplantation