 Daily news from the Canaries and the islands' biggest English language newspaper on-line  |  |  |     |
 Beauty and fashion, health updates, pets, gadgets Transplant technology More lung transplants Doctors at the Puerta de Hierro hospital in Madrid have presented a new technique which will bring hope to the over 150 patients in Spain waiting for lung transplants. 
During heart attacks the lungs often become filled with fluid or swell which make them unsuitable for donation and so far the majority of lung transplants have been from donors who have died from strokes or other brain malfunctions. The technique has been denominated ‘ex vivo’ and it’s the first time that it has been possible anywhere in the world to recover and successfully transplant the lungs of a donor who has died from a heart attack. The cabinet restores the lungs and keeps them working outside the body through a system which completely simulates the conditions inside the chest cavity. The lungs are maintained at 37 degrees temperature connected to tubes containing a liquid similar to blood, oxygen and an exit tube for carbon dioxide. If any infection is present this can also normally be filtered out. The lungs stay in the cabinet for eight hours whilst they are evaluated and swellings or lobular flattening are corrected So far there have been two successful operations, both on sufferers of emphysema, caused by smoking and the lungs which are known to be the least lasting of the organs, were outside the body 22 and 19 hours respectively. The head of chest surgery, Andrés Varela, believes that this time may be cut down in future, except in the cases of seriously damaged organs. The technique has been used in Sweden, Canada and England, but only for the lungs of people who died from brain problems, “now we can work with lungs that were impossible to use before and we can increase the number of transplants by 25 per cent,” assured Varela. The Madrid specialists believe they will be able to use the same technique to genetically alter organs outside the human organism to reduce the possibilities of rejection. Javier Moradiellos, the person responsible for the ex vivo project believes that when the technique becomes cheaper it will be used to assess all lungs for transplants, whether or not they look damaged and he believes that with modifications, the same system could be used for heart and kidney transplants. This article appears in the print edition 610 of Island Connections
| more... La Laguna - 03.02.2012 - The owner of a pack of pit-bulls that attacked a man and his dog while they were walking in a La Laguna park is being sought by police. more... Canary Islands - 03.02.2012 - Although temperatures in some parts of the Canaries are noticeably lower, the islands are virtually the only part of the country to escape Spain's current cold snap. more... 03.02.2012 - The crew of a yacht which caught fire shortly after leaving Puerto Colón were rescued safely thanks to the intervention of another boat in the area, which answered its distress call. more... Santa Cruz - 02.02.2012 - The first Queen of this year's Carnival was chosen last night in a much trimmed-down ceremony in Santa Cruz's Exhibition Centre. more... Arico - 02.02.2012 - Police in Arico are investigating the circumstances of the horrific death of a Cuban farm labourer who was crushed by a lorry as he worked early yesterday. more...    Banish the blues They tell us that this is one of the most depressing times of the year more...   | Elektrische Zigarette Neue Geschmacksrichtungen als gefüllte Depots für die Elektrische Zigarette www.elektrische-zigarette.eu Holiday car Tenerife We have been in the rent a car business since 1976 in Tenerife. Our experience - your advantage. www.hermanns-cars.com Electronic Cigarette The Electronic Cigarette SLIM is recommended for smokers with few consume, occasional smokers and to go. www.liquid-shop.eu Real Estate Tenerife Tenerife Real Estate is your partner on Tenerife for penthouses, properties, fincas or business-pubs for the purchase and sale of villas, chalets, houses, appartements. www.teneriffa-immobilien.es ic media group |
