Doctors Use Artificial Lung to Save Man with Liquefied Lungs

Indian American surgeon Ankit Bharat describes pioneering procedure that kept patient alive until lung transplant.

Feb. 4, 2026 at 10:39pm

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

Doctors in Chicago saved the life of a young Missouri man with a rare infection that had liquefied his lungs, hooking him up to a total artificial lung device for 48 hours before he received a successful lung transplant. The patient, now in his mid-30s, is alive and back working in his family business thanks to the groundbreaking procedure performed by Dr. Ankit Bharat and his team at Northwestern Medicine.

Why it matters

Few patients ever develop such severe lung disease, but experts say the transplant in Chicago will give hope to those in similarly desperate circumstances and show doctors that they can be saved through innovative medical interventions like the artificial lung device.

The details

In May 2023, the Missouri man was airlifted to Northwestern suffering from lung failure triggered by influenza that rapidly deteriorated into a rare, severe complication called necrotizing pneumonia. In a 12-hour surgery, Dr. Bharat removed both of the patient's lungs and hooked him up to an artificial lung device that took in blood from the right side of the heart, infused it with oxygen, and pumped it back to the left side of the heart to be circulated throughout the body.

  • In May 2023, the Missouri man was airlifted to Northwestern.
  • The 12-hour surgery to remove the patient's lungs and connect him to the artificial lung device took place in May 2023.
  • The patient survived on the artificial lung for 48 hours before receiving a successful lung transplant.

The players

Ankit Bharat

The lead surgeon and executive director of the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute where the surgeries were performed.

Marie Budev

The medical director of the lung and heart-lung transplant program at Cleveland Clinic, who was not involved in the work but commented on its significance.

Stephanie Chang

The surgical director of lung transplantation for the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, who called the work by the team at Northwestern "heroic."

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“I think this is something that can go from a novelty to a way of approaching this stage of lung disease in patients. It opens a door for patients that might previously have been rejected for transplant.”

— Marie Budev, Medical Director, Lung and Heart-Lung Transplant Program, Cleveland Clinic

“The patient would have 1,000 percent died without it.”

— Stephanie Chang, Surgical Director of Lung Transplantation, NYU Langone Transplant Institute

“I think this is something that can go from a novelty to a way of approaching this stage of lung disease in patients. It opens a door for patients that might previously have been rejected for transplant.”

— Ankit Bharat, Lead Surgeon, Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute (newsindiatimes.com)

What’s next

Northwestern intends to keep a registry that will allow researchers to track how well the artificial lung device does in other cases.

The takeaway

This groundbreaking procedure demonstrates the potential for innovative medical technologies like the artificial lung to save the lives of patients with the most severe and life-threatening lung conditions, offering hope where previously there may have been none.