Current status of airway management in lung transplant patients

Airway complications are the cause of significant morbidity and mortality in lung transplant recipients. Problems with airway healing were the major obstruction to successful lung transplantation, but these problems have been largely overcome by improved management of the pulmonary donor, the bronchial anastomosis, and early postoperative care. Although the etiology of these complications appears to be related to the lack of reestablishment of the systemic bronchial blood supply, airway complications do not appear to be less frequent with the use of more complex procedures to provide direct bronchial artery revascularization, or with use of indirect techniques to provide neovascularization. Advances in endobronchial therapeutics successfully manage the majority of these airway complications.