Transplants: A Lung and a Larynx

Although the transplanting of a human heart is the most dramatic feat of today's surgery, it is not the most difficult. From the technical standpoint, implantation of a new lung is more delicate and complex. And it carries an even greater risk of failure because the basic function of the lung is to inhale air from outside the body, thus exposing it to infection by airborne microbes. Of ten human-lung transplants previously reported, most have failed within a few days, and all in less than a month.

Good Tissue Match. Last week surgeons...

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