Objective: To explore the feasibility and efficiency of lung transplantation in the treatment of bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (allo-BMT).
Methods: We reported one case of bilateral lung transplantation for BO after allo-BMT and reviewed the related literatures.
Results: A 23 year-old man diagnosed as BO after allo-BMT underwent a sequential bilateral lung transplantation through bilateral anterolateral thoracotomy without sternal division. The patient suffered from acute rejection on post-operation day (POD) 2, and cured by mechanical ventilation, large dose of methylprednisolone and gamma globulin. The patient was transferred out of the intensive care unit on POD 14 and discharged from the hospital on POD 43. Chest CT scans and pulmonary function tests showed good performance in 3 and 6 months follow-up period.
Conclusion: BO is one of the late common non-infectious pulmonary complication after allo-BMT. For patients who have no response to medication, lung transplantation is the only efficient treatment choice so far, which can prolong survival and improve the quality of life. However, limited by small samples, optimal surgery time and appropriate care of postoperative complications still need accumulation of experience by multicenter and large samples studies.