Quick encouragement of ECMO for the temporary management of gas exchange may increase survival rates in trauma patients with ARDS.

After BOS was diagnosed, conversion to MMF and Sir stabilized graft function only in some of the converted patients. Therefore, earlier administration of Sir-based immunosuppression might be a more promising approach. Whether conversion to CNI-free immunosuppression can actually ameliorate the extent or progression of BOS has to be investigated in randomized trials.

No abstract

It is concluded, that predominantly the underlying primary disease influences graft survival after lung transplantation in patients with pulmonary hypertension compared with all other patient and procedure dependent factors. Lung transplantation in patients with PPHT requires further investigations to achieve results comparable with other indications.

Use of NHBD lungs is feasible and results in similar postischemic outcome when compared to sham-controls and standard preservation procedures even after 5 h of pre-harvest warm ischemia. Especially, the NHBD with high-risk constellations for intravascular coagulation might benefit from retrograde preservation by elimination of thrombi from the pulmonary circulation. This innovative technique might also be considered in situations, where brain-dead organ donors become hemodynamically unstable prior to onset of organ harvest. Further trials with longer warm and cold ischemic periods are initiated to further elucidate this promising approach of donor pool expansion.

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We report the one-stage surgical management in a 68-year-old patient with a renal cell carcinoma with extended intravascular growth into the inferior vena cava combined with severe triple coronary artery disease. After nephrectomy the resection of the intravascular tumor and caval reconstruction were performed in deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. Coronary revascularization was accomplished while rewarming. The postoperative course was uneventful. Nine months after this operation there are no signs of reoccurrence.

No abstract