Dr. Matthieu Glorion is a thoracic surgeon at Foch Hospital and a doctoral candidate at Paris-Saclay University. Currently, he is undertaking a year of scientific mobility at the University of Montreal as part of a lung transplantation program.

During this year, he will be involved in the clinical activities of a North American program for lung transplantation and ex-vivo perfusion of significant volume (80 transplantations per year).

“I arrived in Canada in August with my wife and four children. The end of August was dedicated to settling into an apartment in the Petite-Patrie neighborhood. My two older children (9 and 7 years old) started school in Canada on August 28. And my two youngest secured a place in a daycare. My wife, who is a doctor but won’t be practicing this year, is considering volunteer activities at a pediatric hospital.

The change is quite significant for the children, but each one has started to find their place.

Thus, I was able to begin my research activities in lung transplantation and thoracic surgery at the CHUM (University Hospital Center of the University of Montreal) and the CRCHUM (Research Center of the University Hospital Center of the University of Montreal) at the beginning of September. I was fortunate to discover a hospital with “North American” dimensions, new (as it has been in service for 5 years), and affiliated with a research center on the same site with ample resources and well-equipped operating rooms.

Indeed, my activities are planned to be divided between clinical work for 40% and research for 60% of my time.

Clinical Activity:

My role in the department is primarily dedicated to lung transplant and procurement activity. I participate in pre-transplantation evaluation consultations and postoperative follow-ups for transplant recipients. The initial period has been quite busy as I have already participated in 8 transplantations in 4 weeks.

This sustained initial activity was the best way for me to meet the team and learn about local practices.

I am fortunate to have been able to participate in the first two EX-VIVO lung reconditioning procedures on a new Torex machine, developed by the Toronto team that is a leader in the field, recently acquired by the CHUM. Although the technique is quite similar to that used at Foch, it is a great opportunity for me to progress in this field. Furthermore, this company is developing a device for preserving lung grafts at 10 °C for which an international multicenter randomized clinical trial is currently being set up.

Research Activities:

I have also started research activities. From this perspective, I am developing a primary project and participating in existing projects within the team.

The main project involves evaluating the feasibility of using lung grafts from donors in cardiac-circulatory arrest (DCD) after the establishment of central normothermic regional circulation (CRN). This innovative strategy aims to resuscitate the organs in situ before retrieval. It differs from the strategy currently used in France, where CRN is only abdominal. The controversy that interests me is whether this technique, although interesting for heart transplantation, would be detrimental to the lungs. As the French Biomedicine Agency considers the development of such protocols in France, this question is particularly interesting. Thus, the CHUM team has recently implemented a porcine model that I will be able to use to study the transplantability of lungs after this type of procedure through an EX-VIVO evaluation.

September was dedicated to writing research protocols in collaboration with cardiac surgeons. In early October, we conducted our first pilot experiment, which was very promising because, after 30 minutes of cardiac-circulatory arrest, the organs were satisfactorily resuscitated. This initial success allows us to envision the next steps of the research protocol with confidence, which will continue throughout the year.

Finally, I had the opportunity to participate in the AATS (American Association of Thoracic Surgery) congress on thoracic oncology in New York on September 22 and 23. This allowed me to establish connections with North American surgeons in the fields of oncology and robotic surgery, whose further development particularly interests me.”

 

Mattieu Glorion
Thoracic Surgeon