Pulmonary embolectomy after single-lung transplantation

Single-lung transplantation for pulmonary hypertension results in a significant ventilation/perfusion mismatch with dramatic shift of blood flow, but not ventilation, to the replacement organ. This raises concern that the patient may be precariously dependent on the function of the transplanted lung. We report the successful management of a massive central pulmonary embolus to the transplanted lung in a 43-year-old woman 4 years after single-lung transplantation for primary pulmonary hypertension.