Postoperative Complications and Management

Pasero, Daniela; Lees, Nicholas James; Costamagna, Andrea; Ellena, Marco; Montrucchio, Giorgia; Brazzi, Luca

A number of complications may be encountered following lung transplantation, either in the early or in the late phases. Among them, primary graft dysfunction, bacterial and fungal infections, airway complications (e.g. bronchial dehiscence, necrosis and stenosis) and acute rejection can occur in the early phase. These events increase the ICU length of stay and compromise the early survival rate. On the other hand, immunosuppression, which is mandatory to prevent rejection of the graft, exposes the lung recipient to late complications such as opportunistic and viral infection and malignancies. Finally, the incidence of chronic lung allograft dysfunction remains high and represents the major impediment to long term survival. This chapter will provide an overview of the important early and late complications following lung transplantation.