Evening star., 1952-09-08
TronspIonting Of Lungs
Tried Out With DOGS
Although Not Successful,
Results Are Encouraging
By Thomos R. Henry

0y inomoS Y. nenry
Possibility of transplanting lungs
from one individual to another is being
tested with dogs by scientists working
under an Office of Naval Research grant.
In one case q transplanted lung ap-
parently functioned for four weeks. The
experiments are with dogs. They are
reported by Drs. Wilford B. Neptune
and Charles p. Bailey Of the Hahne-
mann Hospital, Philadelphia. They still.
however, are far from an application
to human beings.
I'm the first part Of the work.. they
report. I'VE removed lung from an
experimental animal and then restored
it. We now have a dog whose left lung
was completely removed and then re-
implanted and who now has been under
observation for eight months. Repeated
examinations show the dog to be nor
NAL.
Dog Eventually Dies.
"After this we started to work on
transplantation Of lungs from one dog
to another. The usual pattern of events
is similar to transportation Of other
tissues, such as kidney and skin. There
is an immediate apparently successful
take" as evidenced by clinical observa-
ton and X-ray examination. This is
followed by a period when the lung
does not function. Finally the dog be-
comes liStless, refuses to eat and dies.
Most Of the dogs appear to be healthy
and to have functioning lungs for five
to ten days. Then they sicken and die
10 to II days after surgery. The lung
appears to be largely mass Of dead
tissue filled with red blood cells.
I'VE have been encouraged, however.
by two experiments which did not pro-
ceed as usual. In one experiment the
dog was very active, and the trans
planted lung appeared to function for
about three weeks after surgery. The
animal then developed distemper and
died q days after surgery.
Examination of the transplanted
lung revealed an organ quite similar to
the dogs own lung in outward appear
ance. Microscopic examination revealed
normal living tissue, with only a few
scattered areas due to pneumonia, q
complication of the distemper.
In another experiment the dog was
healthy and the lung apparently func-
toned for four weeks after surgery
when examination of the windpipe. or
bronchus, revealed incipient liberation
OF the tranSplanted hronchus beyond
the line where it was joined to the
dogs own tissue. The dog continued
healthy but the bronchus. in healing,
developed complete obstruction due to
scar tissue, with subsequent collapse
of the lung.
Present Technique Used.
eve now are using pairs of mongrel
dogs OF similar Size-one dog as a donor
and one as recipient. The blood types
of the two are checked for compatibility
before surgery. Heparin is used on the
donor dog to prevent clotting of blood in
the vessels of the lung to be trans
planted. The pulmonary artery and
the main part Of the windpipe are joined
in routine fashion. Instead of uniting
all the pulmonary veins, however, we
remove portion of the left auricle
of the heart to provide the blood supply.
From technical standpoint, trans
plantation Of lungs Is feasible. From
practical viewpoint it is a long way
from clinical use. The most important
difficulty seems to be tissue sensitivity
or incompatibilty. Our experiments
which have seemed satisfactory are diff
ficult to explain unless. in these two
dogs, tissue sensitivity had not yet
developed. A problem of lesser impor-
tance is presented by the bronchial
artery and the area Of the windpipe
which appears to be completely de-
pendent upon it in q high percentage
of cases.
Though successful lung transplants
are not yet possible. future research
may make them so, and one more
means of saving human lives will be
available to medical men,"