Lung patient making good progress

The man who underwent the State's first double-lung transplant on Friday is "making satisfactory progress", the Mater hospital said last night.

A spokesman for the hospital said the patient remained in the hospital's intensive care unit.

"He is doing as well as they [the medical team] would hope. He has been pretty stable since the operation and they are pleased with his progress."

The first 72 hours after such a major operation were very important, he said.

The five-hour operation was carried out by a team of 21 people including three surgeons, two anaesthetists and one physician, early on Friday morning.

The patient, who had emphysema, is in his 50s and from the west of Ireland.

This was the fifth lung transplant in the State since last May when the lung transplantation programme began. Before that, patients had to travel to Britain for the procedure.

Veronica Doyle had the State's first lung transplant at the Mater hospital in May and is in good health. She had been on oxygen for 24 hours a day before the operation.

Two weeks after the operation she was able to walk from the hospital. She said the transplant had given her the chance of a new lease of life.

Some 17 patients are on the waiting list for lung transplants at the Mater. The double-lung transplant was the second lung transplant at the hospital since the new year. A single-lung transplant was carried out two weeks ago.

The Mater hospital's ability to conduct double-lung transplants is particularly important for people with cystic fibrosis as most of them will eventually need this operation.