Canada's first human lung transplantation: the untold story, with an update

This article recounts the clinical background and the legacy of tuberculosis chest surgery, the historical alliance of two McGill teaching hospitals, and the timing of and way in which a joint medical-surgical decision to attempt the first human lung transplantation in Canada was made. The experimental phase, involving the use of identical twin calves, was accomplished with the help of L'Ecole de médecine vétérinaire de Québec. The reasons are given for the universal failure of all the early cases, and an updated summary is provided of the remarkable results obtained in the last decade.