Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2013 - (Page 10)

The Breath of Life After an infection leaves her battling for survival, a double lung transplant at UMMC helps new mom return home S pring is often seen as a time for new beginnings, and for 23-year-old Brittany Davenport of Baltimore County, this rings true. One year ago, Davenport was happily adjusting to her new role as mother of two, Aldo 3-year-old Destiny and 6-week-old Breh. Iacono, MD Nothing could have prepared her for the health scare that would have her spend months in the hospital, ﬁghting for her life. While recovering at home, Davenport noticed that her C-section incision was not healing properly; even after an examination in the ER, she believed Bartley something wasn’t right. She also began to have Grifﬁth, MD trouble breathing and could walk only a few steps on her own. It was clear that something was wrong. On March 6, 2012, Davenport walked herself into the Emergency Department at University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), where she was diagnosed with er acute respiratory distress syndrome and nsw e ocs a th was immediately admitted to the hospital. MC d s in Ask . UM Top uestion m.edu Acute respiratory distress syndrome, or q m your pert at u ARDS, happens when the lungs ﬁll with Ex K, OU ASWER! Y S WE AN 10 MARYLAND’S HEALTH MATTERS ﬂuid and collapse, preventing oxygen from reaching other vital organs. Forty percent of people who contract ARDS do not survive, according to Aldo Iacono, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and medical director of UMMC’s lung transplant program. Physicians at UMMC believe that Brittany developed ARDS through an infection in her C-section incision. A NEW WAY OF ‘BREATHING’ Davenport’s condition quickly deteriorated as her lungs scarred and became unable to oxygenate her blood properly. She was put on an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine, a temporary form of life support that “breathes” for the patient by taking blood from the heart, running it through a machine that oxygenates and removes carbon dioxide from the blood, and returning it to the body. The temporary form of life support allows time for a patient’s failing lungs to heal or for surgery to be performed. Expertise in using advanced technologies like ECMO is what sets the lung transplant program at the University of Maryland Medical Center apart from other hospitals. The team is adept at ﬁnding solutions to help patients bridge to transplant or give the lungs time to heal on their own. The Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit was especially skilled at staying nimble and devising new plans to treat Davenport as her health deteriorated. http://www.umm.edu

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2013

Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2013
Contents
A Healthy Start
A Joint Effort
New Lease on Life
The Breath of Life
News and Events

Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2013