Woman Gets New Windpipe In Groundbreaking Transplant Surgery
By Richard Harris
April 6, 2021
A medical team in New York City says it has performed the first complete surgical transplant of a windpipe.
The trachea is basically a tube that transports air to and from the lungs, so you might think it would be easy to transplant. But not so. In fact, trachea transplants have been one of the last big challenges in this area of medicine.
A 56-year-old woman from the Bronx, New York, named Sonia Sein is the recipient. She ended up in the hospital six years ago after a particularly nasty asthma attack. To help her breathe, she says, doctors inserted a tube down her throat.
Social worker, 56, treated at Mt Sinai hospital in New York
Some patients left with serious damage from ventilators
Trachea transplant recipient Sonia Sein talks with the lead surgeon of her procedure, Dr Eric Genden, left, during a checkup visit at Mt Sinai hospital in New York last month. Photograph: Marshall Ritzel/AP
Trachea transplant recipient Sonia Sein talks with the lead surgeon of her procedure, Dr Eric Genden, left, during a checkup visit at Mt Sinai hospital in New York last month. Photograph: Marshall Ritzel/AP
AssociatedPressinNewYork
Tue 6 Apr 2021 11.23 EDT
Surgeons in New York City have performed the first windpipe transplant in the US, giving a woman who suffered severe asthma a new trachea, the tube that transports air from the mouth to the lungs.
Marion Renault And Marshall Ritzel
Trachea transplant recipient Sonia Sein talks with the lead surgeon of her procedure, Dr. Eric Genden, left, and Dr. Sandy Florman during a checkup visit at Mt. Sinai hospital in New York on Monday, March, 22, 2021. Doctors say this operation could help other people including COVID-19 patients left with serious windpipe damage from breathing machines. (AP Photo/Marshall Ritzel) April 06, 2021 - 6:13 AM
NEW YORK - Sonia Sein said she spent the last six years âtrying to catch every breath at every moment after extensive treatment for her severe asthma damaged her windpipe.
She is breathing freely again after getting an unusual transplant. In January, doctors at New York s Mount Sinai replaced her trachea, the tube that ferries air from the mouth to the lungs.
2 slides Credit: Mount Sinai Health System
Woman Gets New Windpipe In Groundbreaking Transplant Surgery Apr 06, 2021
A medical team in New York City says it has performed the first complete surgical transplant of a windpipe.
The trachea is basically a tube that transports air to and from the lungs, so you might think it would be easy to transplant. But not so. In fact, trachea transplants have been one of the last big challenges in this area of medicine.
A 56-year-old woman from the Bronx, New York, named Sonia Sein, is the recipient. She ended up in the hospital six years ago, after a particularly nasty asthma attack. To help her breathe, she says doctors inserted a tube down her throat.
/
Sonia Sein with her surgeons and ICU team at The Mount Sinai Hospital. // Mount Sinai Health System, Claudia Paul
A medical team in New York City says it has performed the first complete surgical transplant of a windpipe.
The trachea is basically a tube that transports air to and from the lungs, so you might think it would be easy to transplant. But not so. In fact, trachea transplants have been one of the last big challenges in this area of medicine.
A 56-year-old woman from the Bronx, New York, named Sonia Sein is the recipient. She ended up in the hospital six years ago after a particularly nasty asthma attack. To help her breathe, she says, doctors inserted a tube down her throat.