Update on cystic fibrosis: selected aspects related to lung transplantation

Survival after lung transplantation for cystic fibrosis has improved substantially. To date, 1-year survival is as much as 80-90% and 5-year survival 60-70%. Experience of surgical techniques, periand postoperative management and long-term follow-up care has grown. High risk patients for whom transplantation was contraindicated ten years ago are today being transplanted. Prerequisites for a successful outcome are appropriate timing of referral, careful consideration of medical issues in other organs, and psychosocial support systems. Panresistant organisms are a special problem in candidates with cystic fibrosis, and advances in microbiological testing and characterisation of these organisms are warranted. Living donor lobar transplantation has become an option in rapidly deteriorating children and young adults. Selected aspects of the evolving field of lung transplantation are discussed.