World First: Artificial Lung System Keeps Patient Alive for 48 Hours Without Natural Lungs

Kenya, February 02, 2026 - In a groundbreaking surgical achievement, doctors successfully kept a critically ill patient alive for 48 hours without natural lungs by using a custom-engineered artificial lung system, allowing time for a life-saving double lung transplant to be performed, according to a study published this week in the journal Med. 

This marks a significant advance in the treatment of severe respiratory failure and could transform care for patients otherwise considered beyond medical help. 

The patient, a 33-year-old man admitted with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) triggered by influenza B and complicated by a severe, drug-resistant Pseudomonas bacterial infection, rapidly deteriorated despite ventilator support. His lungs filled with pus, and he went into sepsis, kidney failure and cardiac arrest before the surgical team intervened. 

Faced with lungs that were irreversibly damaged, thoracic surgeon Dr. Ankit Bharat and his team at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine made the unprecedented decision to remove both lungs, a procedure called a bilateral pneumonectomy, to halt the relentless infection. 

Typically, losing both lungs is fatal because the body has no mechanism to oxygenate blood or sustain circulation, and conventional devices like ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) cannot fully replace the lungs’ role in maintaining normal blood flow to the heart. 

To overcome this, the team developed a flow-adaptive extracorporeal total artificial lung (TAL) system, a complex engineered circuit that not only oxygenated the patient’s blood and removed carbon dioxide, but also maintained stable blood flow through the heart, a crucial innovation that distinguishes it from existing life-support machines. 

Key features of the TAL system included:

1. A dual-lumen cannula that pulled deoxygenated blood from the heart and delivered it into the artificial oxygenator.
2. A flow-adaptive shunt that protected the heart from dangerous pressure build-ups.
3. Dual return lines ensuring oxygenated blood re-entered the heart reliably.
4. Tissue-based supports to stabilize the heart in the empty chest cavity created by the lung removal. 

Once the artificial lung system was activated, the patient’s condition improved remarkably. Within hours, his blood pressure stabilised, kidney function returned, and he no longer needed medication to support his heart, all signs of his body responding to the temporary respiratory support. 

After 48 hours, a suitable donor became available, and surgeons performed a successful double lung transplant.