Lung Transplant: Road to Recovery

Tom Miller, of Oak Creek, is breathing easier today, thanks to the lung transplant he received in 2022 through the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Lung Transplant Program at Froedtert Hospital, the academic medical center of the Froedtert & MCW health network. 

He is no longer tethered to an oxygen concentrator that kept him from simple tasks like walking to the mailbox. Now he is back to being the neighborhood handyman and drag race enthusiast that fuels his passion. 

“I’ve had the transplant for more than two years,” Tom said. “It’s been the greatest thing since sliced bread.”

Path to Lung Transplant

The now 70-year-old began experiencing breathing difficulties about 15 years ago when he was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This progressive lung disease, often starting with a chronic cough, makes it hard to breathe. 

“Patients often describe COPD as ‘suffocating from the inside,’ as their lungs struggle to expel air and make room for the next breath,” said Samir Sultan, DO, MS, critical care physician, pulmonologist and MCW faculty member, who oversaw Tom’s care. 

Tom initially sought treatment elsewhere, receiving inhalers that provided limited relief. After retiring from his job as an HVAC engineer, he sought a second opinion at the Froedtert & MCW health network. 

Doctors first treated him with bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR), a procedure where valves are placed in the lungs to improve breathing. While BLVR can be successful for COPD patients, Tom said he eventually progressed to needing a lung transplant. 

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, about 2,700 lung transplants are performed each year in the United States. Froedtert Hospital has the only Lung Transplant Program in eastern Wisconsin. 

“Several factors must be reviewed before a transplant can happen,” said Melissa Walton, RN, lung transplant coordinator. “Patients must be matched for height, weight and medical history. Their lifestyles must demonstrate readiness for the challenges before, during and after a transplant. 

“We want our patients to be as strong as possible when they go for a transplant. Being strong pretransplant helps patients during posttransplant recovery.”

New Lease on Life

A hospital transplant selection committee approved Tom for a transplant in October 2022. Two weeks later, he received the call. 

“I may have been calm on the outside, but my inside was like a squirrel on a freeway,” Tom said. “It’s very scary stuff. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know if I was going to make it or not. But my quality of life was so bad that I didn’t have a choice anymore.” 

During a lung transplant, patients are connected to a heart and lung bypass machine while surgeons remove diseased lungs and replace them with healthy ones from a deceased donor. Only one of Tom’s donor lungs was functional, so he received a single lung transplant rather than a double one. 

“That’s OK,” Dr. Sultan said. “While two healthy lungs are optimal, one healthy lung is enough to make a difference. Patients are amazed after surgery. I’ve had patients come to me crying afterwards because of how good they feel. They say, ‘I’ve got my life back.’” 

That is how Tom felt after her received his transplant. When his care team told him to walk 100 feet, he walked about 1,400 feet. 

“The prognosis for lung transplant recipients continues to improve,” said Jorge Mascaro, MD, cardiothoracic surgeon and MCW faculty member. “Currently about half of all transplant patients are alive eight years after the procedure. Remember, that reflects people who received their donor lungs almost a decade ago. 

“Within these eight years, medicine has evolved, technology has advanced and immunosuppression is better understood.” 

Tom continues to check in with the Lung Transplant Program team. He will take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of his life to reduce the risk of his body rejecting the transplant and is especially careful during cold and flu season. These days, he is back to traveling with his wife, Sue, and drag racing his supercharged 2021 GT Mustang. 

“I made up my mind that there was no such thing as ‘I can’t,’” Tom said. “I may not be as fast as I used to be, but I’m not going to give up enjoying life.”