Northwestern Surgeons Keep Man Alive 48 Hours Without Lungs

Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago says its surgical team kept a 33‑year‑old Missouri man alive for 48 hours after removing both of his liquefied, drug‑resistant lungs by using a custom 'total artificial lung system' that maintained gas exchange and normal blood flow until a double‑lung transplant could be performed. The patient, who arrived in spring 2023 with flu‑related lung failure that progressed to severe pneumonia, sepsis and cardiac arrest, had lungs so infected that no antibiotics worked, forcing doctors to remove them to stop the infection from spreading. Because the lungs normally act as a 'shock absorber' for the right side of the heart and supply blood to the left, the team designed a flow‑adaptive shunt and dual return tubes that allowed the patient’s own heart to regulate circulation while an external circuit oxygenated and cleared CO₂ from his blood. One day after the lungs were removed his overall condition began to improve, and two years later he reportedly has excellent lung and heart function and lives independently. Northwestern’s Dr. Ankit Bharat says this is the first successful use of this specific system and argues it could open a new pathway for keeping otherwise‑terminal patients alive long enough to receive a transplant.