Tracheal transplant patient to return home

Ciaran Finn-Lynch, who became the first child in the world to undergo a groundbreaking trachea transplant in March this year, has left Great Ormond Street Hospital to return home to Northern Ireland. UCL scientists and clinicians were key members of the team that carried out the procedure, which involved the removal of Ciaran's trachea to be replaced by a donor windpipe. Ciaran's own stem cells were used to build up the donor windpipe and ensure the organ was not rejected. After a long period of recovery in hospital, the team has been able to prove Ciaran's stem cells are working and vascular function has returned to his trachea. Scientists and surgeons at UCL, GOSH, the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust, and the Careggi University Hospital in Florence, Italy, developed the new technique used in the operation. The team was led by Professor Martin Elliott of Great Ormond Street Hospital, and comprised Professor Paolo Macchiarini, Careggi University Hospital, Florence; Professor Martin Birchall, Professor of Laryngology at UCL Ear Institute and Consultant Laryngologist at the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital; and Dr Mark Lowdell, Director of Cellular Therapy at the Royal Free Hospital and a senior lecturer at UCL Medical School. Ciaran was born with a rare condition called Long Segment Tracheal Stenosis - a tiny windpipe that does not grow and restricts breathing.