Life after Lung Transplantation – Important Tips for Better Recovery

Lung transplant procedures have successfully given a new lease of life to countless people worldwide. Patients claim that the procedure is a life-changing experience that instils hope and gives a new outlook at life.

Does that mean you kick-start and jump right into your new life right after the discharge? Not exactly. Your body needs to completely heal and new healthy lungs need it’s time to get accustomed to the body. Complete recovery and return to your normal routine without any limitations take time, effort and a lot of patience. However, you can go through your routine activities without putting an additional strain on your recovery process.

You can enjoy your daily activities by moderating them and taking a few precautions measures during the recovery process. But how do you do that, you ask?

Here are a few important tips that can help you efficiently pace your recovery:

1. Exercise helps:

Regular exercise can accelerate your recovery process. Done right, it improves the functioning of the heart and lungs, increases flexibility and helps you maintain your weight. Yoga, low impact aerobics, Pilates, brisk walking are some of the exercises recommended for patients after lung transplant surgery depending on your energy level.

2. Driving can wait:

The medications prescribed for the recovery process can cause weakness, tremors or sometimes even blurred vision making driving a risky proposition. So don’t jump right into the driving seat the first thing when you feel your energy is back, especially after lung transplantation in Hyderabad (the traffic is not on your side here). We recommend you wait until you are cleared by taking the lung transplant surgeon or his team.

3. Stay away from the animals:

You should stay away from the animals until you completely recover, especially the birds, whose droppings are one of the causes of lung infections. Refrain from touching them and stay away from their litter boxes. You can contact your lung transplant surgeon and his team for more details.

4. Dental care:

Due to the increased risk of infection through the mouth, no elective dental work before 6 months of transplant procedure is recommended. As for lung transplant patients, routine dental exams and cleanings are recommended after 6 months and antibiotic medicine is considered mandatory before each of these dental works. It is extremely important to adhere to a proper dental care regimen after lung transplantation to ward off the risk of infection.

4. No smoking, please:

Though this is a no-brainer we would like to re-affirm this once again: smoking is even more dangerous for you at this point. It not only thwarts your progress so far but also increases the risk of lung infections, even cancer. Smoking narrows blood vessels, reduces the efficiency of your lungs, and also delays your healing process, probability of all these factors doubles for someone who is on immunosuppressant medications (yes, a lung transplant patient after surgery).

Got more queries on the recovery procedure? Or looking for consultation on lung transplantation in Telangana? Who else is better to answer than the best lung transplant surgeon in South India? Yes, Dr. Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale will answer your queries. You can contact him here: