Pigeon droppings almost cost woman her life, lung transplant gives her hope

PUNE: Staying in the Mumbai suburbs, 53-year-old Shivangi (name changed) forged an instant bond with the pigeons frequenting the balcony of her flat. The innocuous friendship almost cost the woman her life, choking up her lungs and leaving her gasping for breath.

Shivangi was diagnosed with hypersensitivity pneumonitis about a year ago. Caused by pigeon droppings and pollution, the disease in Shivangi’s case had progressed to a stage where lung transplant was the only option left.
Pulmonologist Dr Rahul Kendre, who treated the woman, said she suffered from hypersensitivity pneumonitis, a type of interstitial lung disease caused due to exposure to organic dust. “In her case, it was exposure to pigeon droppings, which get into the air people breathe in,” Dr Kendre said.
The patient was admitted in the ICU of DPU Super Speciality Hospital in Pimpri on September 20 for respiratory failure requiring non-invasive ventilatory support. She was then put on the list for a bilateral lung transplant. On September 28, the hospital got a suitable organ donor in a 42-year-old brain-dead man at the Surat Civil Hospital.
The hospital authorities in Pimpri immediately swung into action and airlifted the lungs from Surat to Pune via a charter flight and brought it to the hospital via a green corridor in Surat and in Pune within 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Dr Kendre said, “It is a known fact that pigeon exposure can lead to such life-threatening diseases. It is, however, not clear as to who can be affected by it. Some genetic predispositions might have a role in its causation.”
“Apart from this disease, I didn’t have any underlying medical condition,” the patient said. She will be discharged from the hospital next week.
Dr Bhagyashree P Patil, pro-chancellor, Dr DY Patil Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Pimpri, said, “I express my gratitude to the traffic police in Pune and Surat, and congratulate skilled doctors who made this a success.”