Cystic fibrosis. 5. The current state of lung transplantation for cystic fibrosis.

As survival in cystic fibrosis has improved over the last decade,' new treatment for the ter- minal pulmonary complications has become available.The first successful heart-lung transplantations for cystic fibrosis were performed in 19852 and early results were excellent in five of the first six patients to receive a transplant.3Subsequently over 100 patients worldwide have received transplants.As more physicians caring for patients with advanced lung disease and patients themselves have become more aware of transplantation, the demand for these scarce resources has increased substantially.There is a need for careful selection of patients and for surgical, postoperative, and long term management by an experienced transplant team.We review the current experience of heart-lung trans- plantation for patients with cystic fibrosis and make recommendations for the referral of patients.