Lung Transplantation: At Home

At Home

Once you are home, it will be important to keep the surgical area clean and dry. Your physician will give you specific bathing instructions. The sutures or surgical staples will be removed during a follow-up office visit, if they were not removed before leaving the hospital.

You should not drive until your physician tells you to. Other activity restrictions may apply.

Follow-up visits will be scheduled frequently after returning home from the hospital. These visits may include blood tests, pulmonary function tests, chest X-ray, bronchoscopy (examination of the main airways of the lungs using a long, thin tube that has a close-focusing telescope on the end for viewing) and biopsy (removal of tissue from the lung for examination under a microscope.) The transplant team will explain the schedule for these tests. The rehabilitation program will continue for many months.

Notify your physician to report any of the following:

• Fever and/or chills - may be a sign of infection or rejection
• Redness, swelling, or bleeding or drainage from the incision site
• Increase in pain around the incision site
• Difficulty breathing

Your physician may give you additional or alternate instructions after the procedure, depending on your particular situation.