Northwestern Performs 4-Organ Transplant on 36-Year-Old After Prior Lung Rejection
Updated
Updated · Chicago Tribune · Jul 14
Northwestern Performs 4-Organ Transplant on 36-Year-Old After Prior Lung Rejection
3 articles · Updated · Chicago Tribune · Jul 14
Summary
Elizabeth Wehrle, 36, underwent a liver, kidney and second set of donor lungs at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in what the hospital says is the first known U.S. case of a quadruple transplant after an earlier lung transplant.
Cystic fibrosis had damaged her liver and kidney, and a severe rejection of lungs transplanted in 2017 left her critically ill after pneumonia in January, eventually requiring intubation and ECMO life support.
Northwestern split the operation into two stages: surgeons first freed scarred, rejected lungs, then days later implanted new lungs, a liver and a kidney in an roughly eight-hour procedure using organs from one donor.
After weeks in the hospital and rehabilitation in Chicago, Wehrle is walking 3 to 4 miles a day and expects to return home to Iowa later this week.
Northwestern said the case shows that highly complex repeat transplants can be done and could expand options for similarly sick patients.
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Breaking Barriers: The First Quadruple-Organ Retransplant in the U.S. and the Future of Multi-Organ Transplantation
Overview
In March 2026, Elizabeth Wehrle underwent the first known quadruple-organ transplant involving retransplanted lungs in the U.S., marking a major milestone in transplant medicine. Her case was extremely rare and difficult, requiring the transplantation of four organs and demanding extraordinary precision. The success of this complex surgery was made possible by seamless collaboration among various specialized medical teams, including thoracic, abdominal transplant, anesthesia, ICU, perfusion, and nursing staff. Their coordinated efforts allowed the intricate operation to be completed in about eight hours, showcasing the power of multidisciplinary teamwork in overcoming unprecedented medical challenges.