About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Risks
By Mayo Clinic staffComplications associated with a lung transplant can sometimes be fatal. The two major risks are rejection and infection.
Risk of rejection
Your immune system defends your body against foreign substances. Even with the best possible match between you and the donor, your immune system will try to attack and reject your new lung or lungs. Your drug regimen after transplant will include medications to suppress your immune system in an effort to prevent organ rejection. You'll likely take these anti-rejection drugs for the rest of your life.
Side effects of anti-rejection drugs
Anti-rejection drugs may cause noticeable side effects, including:
- Weight gain
- A rounder face
- Acne
- Facial hair
- Stomach problems
Some anti-rejection medications can also increase your risk of developing new or aggravating existing conditions, such as:
- Diabetes
- Kidney damage
- Osteoporosis
- Cancer
Risk of infection
The anti-rejection drugs suppress your immune system, making your body more vulnerable to infections, particularly in your lungs. To help prevent infections, you should:
- Wash your hands often
- Take care of your teeth and gums
- Protect your skin from scratches and sores
- Avoid crowds and people who are ill
- Receive appropriate immunizations
- What is a lung transplant? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/lungtxp/lungtxp_all.html. Accessed July 20, 2010.
- Kotloff RM. Lung transplantation: Available surgical techniques. In: Mason RJ, et al. Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4710-0..00095-X--s0035&displayedEid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4710-0..00095-X--s0050&uniq=210775695&isbn=978-1-4160-4710-0&sid=1028228499#lpState=opened&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4710-0..00095-X--s0035%3Bfrom%3Dtoc%3Btype%3DbookPage%3Bisbn%3D978-1-4160-4710-0. Accessed July 21, 2010.
- Reilly JJ, et al. Surgical approach to lung disease: Lung transplantation. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/210628108-3/1027851891/1492/405.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50107-5--cesec1_4298. Accessed July 20, 2010.
- A guide to lung transplantation. American College of Chest Physicians. http://www.chestnet.org/downloads/patients/guides/LungTransplantation.pdf. Accessed July 20, 2010.
- Hachem RR. Lung transplantation: An overview. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 21, 2010.
- Questions and answers for transplant candidates about lung allocation policy. United Network for Organ Sharing. http://www.unos.org/SharedContentDocuments/Lung_Patient(1).pdf. Accessed July 21, 2010.
- Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. About your lung transplant. Rochester, Minn.; Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research: 2006.
- Kotloff RM. Lung transplantation: Outcomes. In: Mason RJ, et al. Murray and Nadel's Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4710-0..00095-X--s0035&displayedEid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4710-0..00095-X--s0050&uniq=210979417&isbn=978-1-4160-4710-0&sid=1028763288#lpState=closed&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4710-0..00095-X--s0065%3Bfrom%3Dtoc%3Btype%3DbookPage%3Bisbn%3D978-1-4160-4710-0. Accessed July 22, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on