An American teenager has become the first person in the world to have had both lungs removed as a result of smoking e-cigarettes.
The Henry Ford Health System said it is ‘the first double lung transplant in the world for a patient whose lungs were irreparably damaged from vaping.’
The patient, who turned 17 while in hospital, is said to be doing well and has a good prognosis although recovery is expected to be long and intense.
He was admitted to the hospital in September with suspected pneumonia, but doctors found an ‘enormous amount of inflammation and scarring’ on his lungs.
In early October, he was taken to the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, and the transplant was performed on October 15.
Surgical director of thoracic organ transplant Dr Hassan Nemeh said: ‘This is an evil I haven’t faced before. The damage that these vapes do to people’s lungs is irreversible. Please think of that—and tell your children to think of that.’
