Penn Lung Transplant Program Lung transplantation is a surgical option for select patients with advanced, nonmalignant lung disease.
Transplantation is considered when all other treatment options have been exhausted.
Depending on the type of lung disease, one or both lungs may be transplanted. The first successful lung transplant was performed in 1983. Dr. Larry Kaiser was one of the participating surgeons and brought this expertise to the University of Pennsylvania. In July 1991 he established the area's first lung transplant program at the Penn Transplant Center. Since that time, we have performed over 200 procedures.