Case Log: 1/31/2024

Case Log

Mission Profile:

Organ Type: Lungs

Wheels Up: 2330 (11:30 PM)

Scheduled OR time: 0100EST

Donor Location: Pennsylvania

Recipient Location: Ohio

Aircraft Type: Citation 550 Bravo

Flight #1:

We took off a little ahead of schedule ( 11:24 PM to be exact), headed for Pennsylvania to recover a set of lungs for the recipient in Ohio. The pilots said the weather should be nice the whole way to PA. Approximately 7 seconds after takeoff, the plane started to yaw (shake from left to right) pretty hard, along with what I assume were gusty winds trying to blow us off course. This combination made for a nerve-wracking take off. As soon as we got above the scant cloud layer, everything smoothed out. Our initial climb out takes us over a large lake which is mostly devoid of light, making it a bit disorienting for my brain and eyes to correlate what angles the rest of my body is in relation to the earth. This is why I take an anti-motion sickness pill before every flight. I threw in my earbuds and pulled up some music and began drifting in and out of sleep.

Donor Side:

The donor’s vital signs stayed pretty consistent throughout the case, not requiring too much pharmacological intervention. We made good time during our team’s portion of the surgery, and all staff members played nicely in the sandbox, so to speak. The lungs looked great and didn’t require much recruitment (the act of manipulating the airway pressures of the respiratory system to “perk up” the lungs). All teams were able to accept their organs on behalf of their recipients. We moved forward with the removal of the organs. We removed the lungs after flushing them with preservation solution, cooling them in the process. After the lungs were out, we placed them in their sterile bags for transport and put them into the transportation device.

Flight #2:

We had an uneventful flight to the recipient center, the pilots having gotten us breakfast sandwiches to eat on the flight home. After all, it was almost time for the sun to come up by the time we became airborne.

Recipient Side:

We landed at the recipient airport and were taken to the recipient hospital via an SUV with lights and sirens. We arrived at the recipient hospital, changed into yet another set of scrubs, and headed for the OR where the recipient surgery had already started.