Lung Transplantation
At the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, we are dedicated to managing advanced lung diseases. Our excellent 93.45 percent one-year survival after transplantation—combined with our patients getting a transplant faster, low mortality on the transplant list, and the high volume of transplants we perform—makes us the top-ranked lung transplant center in the country as calculated by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR).
We offer people 12 years of age and older effective treatment options and provide excellent care through every stage of the lung transplant process. Treatment for children is provided through Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone.
Our doctors may recommend a single- or double-lung transplant for people with chronic, end-stage lung disease when maximum medical therapy offers no relief or when no effective therapy exists. In 2022, 96 percent of our lung transplants were bilateral, leading to better outcomes for our patients. People who have one of the following conditions may be candidates for a lung transplant:
- interstitial lung diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, pulmonary manifestations of collagen vascular disease, eosinophilic granuloma, and lymphangiomyomatosis (LAM)
- pulmonary vascular disorders, such as primary pulmonary hypertension
- obstructive lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, and alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency
- bronchiectasis, including cystic fibrosis
- other rare conditions that affect the lungs
Your physician or pulmonologist may refer you to the NYU Langone Transplant Institute for evaluation, or you may contact us yourself. This does not mean automatic acceptance as a transplant candidate. Rather, it’s the beginning of an evaluation process that determines whether a lung transplant is the right choice for you, and whether you are a suitable candidate for the procedure.
Your First Visit
During your first visit, our lung transplant team meets with you to review your medical records and radiology films. You are asked to complete a six-minute walking test to determine how far you’re able to walk during that time and to measure your oxygen levels. You complete this test at every subsequent visit and doctors measure the results each time against those from your first visit.
Next, one of our transplant physicians meets with you to discuss your medical history and conduct a complete physical examination. If the physician determines that you’re a candidate to begin transplant evaluation testing, our transplant nurse coordinator schedules additional tests that begin approximately two weeks after your initial visit.
Lung Transplant Evaluation
Once our experts begin your lung transplant evaluation, our transplant nurse coordinator schedules tests and consultations with members of the lung transplant team, including:
- radiology tests
- cardiac catheterization and other cardiac tests, such as an echocardiogram and 12-lead electrocardiogram (EKG)
- lab work, such as a blood test to check for antibodies in the blood, blood type test, chemistries, complete blood count (CBC), hepatitis panel, HIV test, and immunoglobulin panel
- meetings with a social worker, financial coordinator, dietitian, pharmacist, and lung transplant surgeon
In addition to the results of the evaluation, our team considers the type and severity of lung disease, symptoms, and your age.
Throughout the process, we continually consider whether you are a suitable candidate for a lung transplant and make sure that you and your family have all the necessary information to make an informed decision.
If our team determines that you are a lung transplant candidate, we help you prepare for candidacy. Based on the results of your evaluation tests, you are assigned a Lung Allocation Score, or LAS, and our transplant nurse coordinator places you on the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) national waiting list. Your place on the list is determined by your LAS and your blood type. Once you are on the waiting list, you must be prepared for surgery whenever donor lungs become available.
We conduct lung transplant evaluations and provide pre- and post-transplant outpatient care at our Manhattan location.
After Lung Transplant Surgery
In the months after your transplant, you have frequent checkups with our team. At these checkups, our experts make sure you are doing well, adjust your medications if necessary, and monitor you for infections or other complications. Our lung transplant team pioneered the use of remote health monitoring after lung transplant and video doctor visits that reduce the need for repeated trips to checkups.
Treatment for Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension
Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, or CTEPH, is high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs caused by repeated blood clots or clots that do not dissolve. Our cardiothoracic surgeons perform the recommended treatment for CTEPH, pulmonary thromboendarterectomy.
During this highly precise surgery, you are placed on a heart–lung machine—a device that pumps oxygenated blood to your body—as the surgeon carefully clears the blood vessels from the inside. This allows blood to again flow normally through the previously blocked areas.
Our Leadership
Stephanie H. Chang, MD, surgical director of lung transplantation, has performed more than 250 lung transplants and trained with pioneers in the procedure.
Luis F. Angel, MD, medical director of lung transplantation, has more than two decades’ experience treating people who have advanced lung diseases.
Contact Us
Our lung transplant clinic is in Manhattan at 550 First Avenue, Health Care Center, on the fourth floor. For additional information or to make an appointment, please call our team at 866-838-LUNG (866-838-5864) or email us at LungTxp@NYULangone.org.