Georgia's Only Lung Transplant Service
Emory surgeons performed Georgia's 1st lung transplant in 1993
Clinical Overview
Emory's Adult Lung Transplantation Service is the only program in the state offering lung and heart-lung transplants for adult patients with end-stage lung disease and also receives referrals from many southeastern states. As of January 2007, two hundred adult and pediatric lung transplants had been performed at Emory, achieving patient and graft survival rates consistent with national outcomes.
Emory lung transplant surgeons collaborate with pulmonologists, transplant coordinators, a social worker, a clinical nutritionist, a financial coordinator and others at the McKelvey Center for Lung Transplantation and Pulmonary Vascular Diseases, a component of the Emory Transplant Center specializing in the treatment of complex lung disorders, especially pulmonary vascular and interstitial lung diseases, as well as advanced care for patients with pulmonary hypertension.
Transplant candidates are matched with donors through the national waiting list administered by the United Network for Organ Sharing, the national agency that regulates organ transplantation. LifeLink of Georgia facilitates organ donation for the state of Georgia.
Research Overview
Research at the McKelvey Center focuses on:
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Cultivating new strategies to improve outcomes after lung transplant surgery |
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Developing new medical therapies for complex lung disorders |
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Transplant immunology, which concentrates on stopping the rejection of transplanted organs, minimizing the toxic side effects of daily immunosuppressant medications and achieving permanent, long-term acceptance of donor organs |
Current research projects at the center include clinical trials investigating the mechanisms of obliterative bronchiolitis following lung transplantation and developing experimental methods for effective gene therapy, new immunosuppressant medications and new drugs for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension.
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Our Surgical Team
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Dr. Seth Force is the Surgical Director of Adult Lung Transplantation. Since coming to Emory in 2003, Dr. Force has overseen the tripling of the number of lung transplants performed per year by the service. As a fellow at Barnes Hospital at Washington University School of Medicine, Dr. Force worked with Dr. Joel Cooper, who is credited with performing the first successful lung transplant. |
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Dr. Daniel Miller is the Chief of the General Thoracic Surgery Center, the Surgical Director of the Thoracic Oncology Program of the Winship Cancer Institute and the Chair of Lung Center Development of Emory University Hospital. From 1994-1997, he co-directed the lung transplant program at University of Louisville Hospitals in Kentucky. One of Dr. Miller's primary research interests is the development of a minimally invasive treatment program for such thoracic malignancies as lung cancer and esophageal cancer. |
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Dr. John Puskas holds several positions, including Director of the Clinical Research Unit of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. In addition to lung transplantation, he specializes in adult cardiac surgery. He began performing coronary bypass operations on beating hearts without using a heart-lung machine in 1996 and has conducted various high profile studies investigating the procedure's medical benefit. In 1997, he performed the world's first triple off-pump bypass surgery using minimally invasive coronary artery bypass graft (mini-CABG) instrumentation. |
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Dr. David Vega came to Emory in 1996 after completing his fellowship in cardiopulmonary transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. By 1997, he was directing both the lung transplant and the heart transplant programs at Emory University Hospital; he stepped down from directing lung transplantation in 2004. In 1999, Dr. Vega performed Georgia's first implantation of a dual pump ventricular assist device (VAD) to serve as a bridge to heart transplantation. In 2006, he implanted the state's first VAD as a form of destination therapy for individuals who are not eligible for or are unwilling to undergo a heart transplant. |
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