The procedure was not just a matter of professional skills, but it also implied at the beginning of executing the entire lung transplant at the clinical center. So far, patients have been sent to AHK hospital in Vienna, and the University Medical Centre Ljubljana was in charge of preparing patients for transplantation and for treating them after the surgery.

The first and, since ten days ago, the only lung transplant of a single lung wing was performed in University Medical Centre Ljubljana 15 years ago. According to the head of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana Ivan Kneževič, there has always been a desire to fully implement the program at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana. This is why doctors from Vienna educated Slovenian team, and this time, they independently performed a simultaneous transplantation of both lung wings.

The most difficult cases will still be sent to Vienna
Kneževič said that in Vienna, they transplanted lungs from three to eight Slovenian patients annually. It turned out that they can no longer cover Slovenian transplantation needs and this is why the establishment of the University Medical Centre Ljubljana program is so important. He also added that the number of lung transplants in the future will range from 15 to 20 per year. However, the most difficult cases will still be sent to Vienna.

Kneževič reminded us that the lungs were the last organ, which has not been transplanted at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana. He also added that in the future, the staff needs to be strengthened, the technical equipment should be supplemented and logistics should be improved.

There are currently five patients in Slovenia, waiting for a lung transplant, and four of them are at University Medical Centre Ljubljana.