pioneering surgery and state-of-the-art technology that successfully
oxygenated and circulated her blood after both her lungs were removed
simultaneously.
Doctors at Toronto General Hospital made the life-saving call with just
hours to spare as Melissa Benoit, who suffers from Cystic Fibrosis, had
contracted a serious, antibiotic-resistant lung infection back in April
2016.
“In Melissa’s case, our hand was being forced a little bit because she
was actively dying, and if we hadn’t done something, she would have died
that day for sure,” said Dr. Niall Ferguson, head of critical care at the University Health Network, at a news conference held on Wednesday.
At the time, no donor had been found and there was no precedent for such
a procedure but the team chose to make the high risk decision in the
hope that a suitable donor could be found in time. They did not
anticipate a wait of six days.
“For the first time ever, we had a patient in our intensive care unit
with no lungs. In fact, she technically was on an artificial lung, an
artificial heart and an artificial kidney for six days,” said Dr. Shaf
Keshavjee, director of Toronto Lung Transplant Program. “We didn’t know
if we’d get [them] in one day or one month,” said Keshavjee.
The two machines responsible for keeping Melissa alive as the lungs were
removed, and over the course of the following six days, were a Novalung
and an Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
The Novalung infused Benoit’s blood with oxygen while removing carbon
dioxide and the ECMO took on the responsibility of pumping the blood
around her body.
As part of her recovery, Melissa has had to learn how to lift her head,
raise her torso and stand again after almost six months in bed following
the operation.
She is also preparing for another transplant in the near future as her
kidneys were damaged throughout the process. Thankfully Melissa’s mother
has agreed to donate one of hers as soon as her daughter is strong
enough.
“You really come from the brink of death to back living at home. But I’m just so grateful, so happy to be home,” said Benoit.