David and Susan have a long, happy marriage, and were thrilled to attend their son’s wedding. However, after returning home David noticed something wasn’t right. He was short of breath and had flu-like symptoms that he couldn’t shake- something was radically wrong and his health kept getting worse.
David was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a disease that leads to the accumulation of scar tissue in the lungs. When the scar tissue develops between the air spaces and bloodstream, it makes it very hard for the body to absorb oxygen and create energy.
As David’s disease worsened he was no longer able to get out of bed and his pulmonologist in Williamsport, Pennsylvania said there was nothing else they could do. David’s last chance at survival was a lung transplant. Susan researched every transplant program between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, looking for an experienced lung transplant program that would be able to follow and support them every step of the way. That’s how they found Dr. Hadjiliadis and came to Penn Medicine.
Surgeons at Penn have significantly improved the lives of hundreds of patients, having performed more than double the number of lung transplants than any other transplant program in the region. Since the inception of the program, over 1000 successful lung transplants have been performed. The benefit of our experience is that every aspect of lung transplant care is well organized and centered on the patient.
David and Susan met with the Penn lung transplant team and he was placed on the transplant list. Within three days he received his transplant. The surgery went perfectly and David awoke to his son and wife sitting anxiously by his bedside.
Within three weeks David was walking again, and today he is feeling better than ever. He and Susan work around the house and enjoy their garden, their life together made all the sweeter for the struggle and illness they have overcome.
Learn more about the Penn Lung Transplant Program: http://bit.ly/2wRPhwV
Meet Dr. Hadjiliadis: http://bit.ly/2i90LJJ
Request an appointment: http://bit.ly/2ycKbz9
#PulmonaryFibrosis #LungTransplant #PennMedicine
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