Transplant Pulmonology · KIMS Bengaluru
Dr. Manjunath M Negigoudara leads the medical arm of the KIMS Electronic City lung transplant programme - evaluation, listing, ICU management, immunosuppression, airway interventions and lifelong follow-up. 250+ lung transplants personally managed.
250+
Lung transplants managed
780+
Thoracic transplants at KIMS
India’s 1st
Redo double lung transplant
Mon-Sat
9 AM to 5 PM IST
Lung transplantation is not a single surgery - it is a multi-year clinical relationship that spans evaluation, listing, the operation itself, ICU recovery, immunosuppression management, rejection monitoring and airway care. The person who leads that arc is the transplant pulmonologist, not the surgeon.
Dr. Manjunath M Negigoudara is the transplant pulmonologist at KIMS Hospital, Electronic City. His practice covers the entire lung transplant continuum. He has personally managed 250+ lung transplant cases - decisions about candidacy, pre-operative optimisation, intra-ICU management, post-transplant follow-up out to years - within the KIMS Institute of Heart and Lung Transplant, which has completed 780+ thoracic transplants.
ISHLT criteria application, cardiac and cancer screening, psychosocial and financial review.
Registry listing, pulmonary rehab, infection prophylaxis, ECMO bridging when indicated.
Ventilator strategy, hemodynamic support, early graft dysfunction, bronchial anastomosis review.
Induction and maintenance regimens, tacrolimus level titration, side-effect management.
Surveillance bronchoscopy with TBLB, spirometry-based CLAD detection, escalation therapy.
Bronchoscopic management of anastomotic dehiscence, stenosis, granulation and stent care.
Most referrals fall into one of four groups. Understanding which group you fit into helps predict the pathway and timeline.
Group 1 - Progressive ILD or IPF. Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, non-specific interstitial pneumonia, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, or connective-tissue-related ILD whose lung function is declining despite antifibrotic therapy. Referral is often triggered by falling FVC (below 50-60%), falling DLCO, or increasing oxygen requirement.
Group 2 - End-stage COPD or emphysema. Patients with severe airflow obstruction (FEV1 typically below 25% predicted), frequent exacerbations, hypercapnia, or pulmonary hypertension. Selection is careful - not every severe COPD patient is a transplant candidate.
Group 3 - Post-COVID pulmonary fibrosis. A growing referral stream since 2021 - patients with severe post-COVID scarring who have not recovered lung function despite months of medical management. Some do improve slowly; some progress to transplant.
Group 4 - Acute severe respiratory failure on ECMO. Patients placed on veno-venous ECMO for severe ARDS, pneumonia, or acute exacerbation of chronic lung disease. If the native lungs do not recover, ECMO becomes a bridge to transplant - see our clinical explainer ECMO as bridge to recovery vs transplant.
Not every patient with end-stage lung disease is a lung transplant candidate. The evaluation applies international selection criteria (ISHLT) and considers age, other organ function, cancer history, and psychosocial support. This table summarises the usual pattern - not a decision-maker, since real candidacy is decided in clinic, but a useful frame for referring GPs and families before a formal evaluation.
| Factor | Usually qualifies | Usually does not qualify |
|---|---|---|
| Age | Bilateral: up to about 65; single: up to about 70 | Above 70-75 with any comorbidity |
| Underlying disease | IPF/ILD, COPD, PAH, cystic fibrosis, post-COVID fibrosis, occupational lung disease | Active or recent malignancy (less than 5 years), untreatable infection, incurable extra-pulmonary disease |
| Other organ function | Preserved cardiac, kidney and liver function | Severe heart failure, dialysis-dependent kidney disease, cirrhosis |
| Body weight | BMI roughly 17-32 with stable weight | BMI below 17 or above 32-35 without pre-op optimisation |
| Substance use | Non-smoker for at least 6 months, alcohol free, no active substance abuse | Active smoking, vaping, alcohol dependence, illicit substance use |
| Adherence & support | Reliable caregiver, ability to attend follow-up, mental health stability | No caregiver, untreated psychiatric illness, history of non-adherence to therapy |
| Financial planning | Coverage or plan for surgery + lifelong immunosuppression cost | No plan for the ongoing (post-op years) medication expense |
If you are unsure which side of this table you fall on, that is exactly what a transplant pulmonology consultation is for. Many "not qualified" patients are actually optimisable - weight loss, smoking cessation programmes, treatment of comorbid disease - and become candidates after 6-12 months of preparation.
Lung transplant is one of the most infrastructure-intensive surgeries performed. It requires HEPA-filtered post-operative rooms, dedicated transplant ICU, immediate access to ECMO, bronchoscopy on-demand, transplant-experienced anaesthesia, dedicated transplant pharmacy for immunosuppression, and a coordinator team who manage the deceased-donor allocation process.
KIMS Hospitals is a large multi-organ transplant programme in South India. The lung transplant service is a sub-programme within that ecosystem - so patients get the benefit of an already-mature transplant infrastructure (surgical teams, ICU protocols, coordinator systems, pharmacy) rather than a standalone lung service trying to build all this from scratch.
For a transplant evaluation visit, please bring:
A transplant assessment is a conversation and a set of tests, not a commitment to surgery. Referral early is what keeps the option open; most of the harm comes from referring late.
Phone / WhatsApp
Consulting hours
Monday - Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM IST
Location
KIMS Hospital, Electronic City
Konappana Agrahara, Bengaluru 560100
Patient feedback
Transplant families often say the thing that mattered most was being told plainly where they stood. If Dr. Manjunath guided you or your relative through that decision, a review on the Google Business Profile helps families facing it now.