Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 28, 2026
09:12
A Pre-Clinical Porcine Model of Orthotopic Heart Transplantation
Published on: April 27, 2019
8.9K
Progressive lung calcification after orthotopic heart transplant.
Sushilkumar Sonavane1, Saurabh Guleria, David R Crowe
1Cardiopulmonary Section, Department of Radiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 619 19th St. S JTN 370, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA, ssonavane@uabmc.edu.
Pediatric Radiology
|June 9, 2014
Summary
Pulmonary airspace opacities after transplant are usually infections or edema. Rarely, dense opacities indicate asymptomatic pulmonary calcifications needing no intervention.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Radiology
- Transplant Medicine
Background:
- Focal, asymmetrical pulmonary airspace opacities are common findings in post-transplant patients.
- Differential diagnoses typically include infection, hemorrhage, edema, and infarction.
Observation:
- Rarely, dense pulmonary opacities may be observed.
- These opacities can be stable or mildly progressive over time.
Findings:
- The study highlights pulmonary calcifications as a rare cause of dense pulmonary opacities in the post-transplant setting.
- In most instances, these calcifications are asymptomatic.
Implications:
- Asymptomatic pulmonary calcifications generally do not require further investigation or intervention.
- This finding aids clinicians in differentiating benign calcifications from more serious post-transplant complications.
