Doctors Save Woman’s Life by Removing Her Lungs for Six Days
Local Editor
In what is believed to be the first procedure of its kind in the world, doctors in Canada saved a young mother's life by resorting to a radical solution - they removed her lungs for six days while she waited for a transplant.
In April, Melissa Benoit arrived at a Toronto hospital with a severe lung infection. Doctors soon realized that Benoit, who had been born with cystic fibrosis, had just hours to live, leading them to consider the unprecedented approach.
Benoit was put on a temporary life support device but her condition continued to deteriorate; the bacteria in her lungs became resistant to most antibiotics, sending her body into septic shock and her blood pressure dropping. One by one, her organs began shutting down.
Her team of doctors gathered together to weigh a bold solution they had contemplated for years but never carried out - the removal of both her lungs in hopes of eliminating the source of the bacterial infection.
The list of unknowns was long, from the risk of bleeding into the empty chest cavity to whether her blood pressure and oxygen levels could be sustained once her lungs were removed.
Benoit's husband, Chris, gave doctors the go-ahead, thinking of their three-year-old daughter. "We needed this chance," he said. "Things were so bad for so long, we needed something to go right."
In mid-April, a team of 13 began a nine-hour surgery to remove Benoit's lungs.
Hours later, her condition began to dramatically improve.
A small artificial lung was connected to Benoit's heart, while other devices oxygenated and circulated her blood. As they waited for replacement lungs to become available, doctors wondered how long she could be supported like this.
Six days later a pair of donor lungs became available and Benoit underwent a successful lung transplant.
Since then, her strength has steadily improved. Months in the hospital had initially left her without the ability to hold her head up, sit up or stand, but in the past month she has begun walking without a cane or walker.
When Benoit first learned of the surgery that had saved her life, she didn't believe it. "It took me a while to realize what happened. I just couldn't piece it together," she said. "You really come from the brink of death to back living at home. But I'm just so grateful, so happy to be home."
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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