Northwestern Medicine surgeons performed the first known quadruple-organ transplant involving retransplanted lungs in the United States for Elizabeth Wehrle, a 36-year-old mother from Montezuma, Iowa, according to a July 14 announcement. Wehrle received two donor lungs for a second time, along with a liver and kidney, after complications from cystic fibrosis and chronic rejection of her initial lung transplant left her critically ill. The surgery took place at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and involved a multidisciplinary team handling one of the most complex surgical cases reported.
According to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR), Wehrle is the first patient in the country to undergo such a procedure involving retransplanted lungs. SRTR data shows that Northwestern Medicine is now the sixth program nationally to perform any quadruple-organ transplant but is unique as the first to do so with retransplanted lungs. Only seven similar procedures have been performed across the United States.
"Retransplanting lungs is extraordinarily difficult because prior surgery can leave the chest densely scarred and the normal anatomy severely distorted," said Ankit Bharat, MD, chief of thoracic surgery and executive director of Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute. "Adding a liver and kidney transplant placed Elizabeth’s case in a category few transplant programs ever encounter. Her outcome reflects not just surgical skill, but an entire system built to care for the most complex patients," said Satish Nadig, MD, PhD, director of Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive Transplant Center. "Every transplant case is unique, but Elizabeth’s case was extremely rare and difficult. This operation worked because...the teams functioned as one coordinated team...It truly highlights why Northwestern Medicine’s expertise can take on some of the most complex transplant cases in the world."
Wehrle previously underwent double-lung transplantation in 2017 at another health system before developing restrictive allograft syndrome—a rare form of chronic rejection—alongside organ failure due to cystic fibrosis complications. By March this year she required both ventilator support and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). She was admitted on March 17, listed for transplantation on March 19, matched with donors three days later, received new lungs starting March 22, followed by liver and kidney transplants early March 23—all completed within eight hours through coordinated surgical teams using advanced machine perfusion technology.
Following her discharge less than three weeks post-surgery, Wehrle began walking several miles daily as part of recovery. "Before surgery there was so much tightness in my chest...Almost immediately after transplant I felt like a new person," Wehrle said. She will return home July 17 to reunite with her son.
Northwestern Medicine recognizes community contributions through humanitarian awards reflecting values such as compassion and impact; receives national recognition for physician well-being initiatives; operates under parent organization Northwestern Memorial HealthCare; aims for world-class care focused on patient care, education and research; engages in strategic collaborations for clinical research advancement; and Howard B. Chrisman serves as president and chief executive officer, all according to the official website.
