Successful lung transplantation after prone positioning in an ineligible donor: a case report

Atelectasis is a reversible factor in hypoxemia among brain-dead donors. In ineligible donors, prone positioning reverses atelectasis and improves oxygenation. We present a successful lung transplantation after salvaging a previously unviable lung. A 37-year-old woman presented with acute pontine hemorrhage that progressed to brain death. The initial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2)/fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) ratio of the donor’s lung was 342 mmHg. The PaO2/FiO2 ratio dropped to 49 mmHg due to atelectasis. There was no improvement despite recruitment maneuvers, bronchoscopy, and chest percussion. After placing the donor in the prone position for four hours, electrical impedance tomography showed improved atelectasis. The donor did not experience hemodynamic instability. The lung was transplanted into a patient with Kartagener’s syndrome with situs inversus. The surgical procedure was uneventful. He was successfully weaned from the mechanical ventilator on the second-day post-transplantation and was discharged from the hospital after 4 weeks.