Coronavirus: Woman receives first known lung transplant in US after Covid-19 severely damaged the organ

Surgeons revealed the surgery lasted 10 hours and was more difficult than a regular lung transplant because of the damage to the organ. The virus left the woman’s lungs “completely plastered to tissue around them, the heart, the chest wall and diaphragm,” said Dr Ankit Bharat, who performed the surgery, in an interview. The surgery proved to be a success with the woman, who had no underlying medical conditions prior to contracting Covid-19, recovering well. “We are talking about patients who are relatively young, very functional, with minimal to no comorbid conditions, with permanent lung damage who can’t get off the ventilator.” She was ill with the virus for two weeks before being admitted to the hospital on 26 April. At the time, her body was in critical shape, with signs that other organs like the heart, liver, and kidneys were starting to fail.