RADIOLOGICAL FINDINGS IN LUNG TRANSPLANTATION

Lung transplantation (single-lung transplantation, double-lung transplantation or heart-lung transplantation) may be the only effective therapy in end-stage pulmonary disease. At specialized institutions it has been performed on a routine basis for some years now. Diagnostic imaging plays an important role in the assessment of potential recipients as well as for the postoperative evaluation after transplantation. The aim of this review is to describe the role of imaging procedures of the chest in these patients and to demonstrate characteristic plain radiographic and computed tomographic findings. Normal postoperative findings specific to lung transplant patients as well as typical. Complications are presented. These include reimplantation response, acute and chronic rejection, and the typical bacterial, viral, and fungal infections as well as the sequelae of transbronchial biopsy.