Deer was added to the lung transplant list, but he faced an additional hurdle. Courtesy Northwestern MedicineThe genetic condition, called situs inversus, affects about 1 in every 10,000 people, according to the Cleveland Clinic. But having yet another rare condition that ends up causing enough lung damage that someone would need a lung transplant is even rarer,” Bharat said. Complicated surgeryLike Deer, Vega was put on the lung transplant waiting list, and like Deer, needed individualized treatment. Laura Brown/Courtesy Northwestern MedicineJust reattaching blood vessels created in utero for a left lung to openings on a “normal” right lung, for example, was especially difficult.

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Persons: Dennis, Deer, ”, Ankit Bharat, Bharat, Yahaira Vega, situs, ” Bharat, Vega, “, Laura Brown, Vega —, Norvell Tolbert, ‘, ’, ” Deer, Gesturing Organizations: CNN, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern, Cleveland Clinic, Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute, “, Northwestern Medicine, Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic, Memorial Hospital Locations: Cook, Illinois, Chicago, Elgin , Illinois