Survival After Lung Retransplantation in the United States in the Current Era (2004 to 2013): Better or Worse?

Patient survival after LRTx in the United States has improved compared with historical data but remains lower than LPTx. Careful recipient selection and preoperative optimization based on the factors identified in our study may help utilize resources better and improve survival after LRTx. Bilateral LRTx should be preferentially performed as much as possible. Poor candidates for LRTx include those requiring retransplantations more than once or within 1 year. Prospective multi-institutional studies are necessary to help better understand the actual role of these factors in LRTx.