Maryland's Health Matters - Upper Chesapeake - Spring 2013 - (Page 11)

PIONEERING A LIFESAVING TECHNIQUE Over the years, Bartley Griffith, MD—Thomas E. and Alice Marie Hales Distinguished Professor of Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and director of heart and lung transplantation at UMMC—was awarded several National Institutes of Health grants to develop artificial lung devices, including a portable ECMO machine that enables patients awaiting transplantation to walk around. Dr. Griffith and team were the first in the United States to enroll a patient in a clinical trial using a new ex vivo lung perfusion technique, which reinvigorated donor lungs that previously would have been deemed unusable for transplant. The technique could increase the number of donor lungs available for the more than 1,600 patients awaiting transplants nationwide. The surgical team decided to try a different method to connect Davenport to the ECMO machine. Traditionally, cannulas—tubes inserted into the body to deliver or remove fluid—are connected through the legs, which means the patient has to lie in bed. “We wanted to try a unique connection method that would permit Brittany to get up and walk,” says Bartley Griffith, MD, professor of surgery and director of heart and lung transplantation. Through small incisions in the chest and neck they connected cannulas to the heart’s right atrium and pulmonary artery. This change in technique allowed Davenport, who had been sedated since her ordeal began, to finally regain consciousness. Above: The University of Maryland Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit never gave up on patient Brittany Davenport, who spent almost a year getting healthy enough for a lung transplant. Top: Davenport, at home with daughter Breh.  Discover more about lungs in our health library! Go to uchs.org/mhm. uchs.org | Spring 2013 11 http://www.uchs.org/mhm http://www.uchs.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maryland's Health Matters - Upper Chesapeake - Spring 2013

Maryland's Health Matters - Upper Chesapeake - Spring 2013
Contents
A Healthy Start
Like This? Try That!
The Breath of Life
At a Glance
Physician Update
News and Events

Maryland's Health Matters - Upper Chesapeake - Spring 2013

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