Media Coverage

Chicago air quality worst in the world as Canada wildfire smoke chokes skies; beaches closed, events canceled

Chicago air quality is now hazardous as Canadian wildfire smoke has settled in an acrid haze over the area Thursday morning.

“The stuff that you’re seeing there on the images of the skyline are actually the less risky particles,” said Dr. Scott Budinger, chief of pulmonary and critical care at Northwestern Medicine.

Northwestern Thoracic Surgeon on Rare Quadruple-Organ Transplant

Dr. Chitaru Kurihara, thoracic surgeon and surgical director of the Lung Transplant Program at Northwestern Medicine, joins John Williams to share details surrounding the first known quadruple-organ transplant involving retransplanted lung that Northwestern surgeons performed.

Chicago Weather: High Temperatures, Air Quality Alert for Area as Wildfire Smoke Approaches

Dr. Justin Fiala, a pulmonologist with the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute says because of high levels of ozone pollution, people with respiratory issues or ailments probably should stay inside.

“So for people with asthma or COPD, they can end up with kind of an acute attack because of those things,” Dr. Fiala said. “Other people with other underlying conditions, say heart disease for instance, might feel like they are less able to do the things they normally able to do.”

What Do the Daraxonrasib Study Results Really Mean, and What’s Next?

At the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, doctors stood and applauded after researchers presented results from a major study on daraxonrasib for pancreatic cancer: a nearly doubling of median survival rates.

Gladys Rodriguez, MD, an assistant professor and gastrointestinal medical oncologist at Northwestern Medicine, says most people with metastatic pancreatic cancer (cancer that’s spread to other parts of the body) start treatment with IV chemotherapy.

Iowa Woman Gets Rare Quadruple Organ Transplant at Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Surgeons at Northwestern Memorial Hospital earlier this year performed the nation’s first known quadruple organ transplant on a patient with a prior lung transplant.

Following four months of recovery, Wehrle is now walking several miles a day. She personally thanked the doctors and her donors following this long journey.

Dr. Satish Nadig on a One-of-a-Kind Quadruple-Organ Transplant

Satish N. Nadig, MD, PhD, Chief of the Division of Abdominal Organ Transplant and Director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive Transplant Center, joins John Landecker to discuss the first known quadruple-organ transplant involving retransplanted lungs in the United States, performed at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

They dive into the procedure that saved Elizabeth Wehrle, a 36-year-old Iowa mother, who underwent a double lung transplant for a second time.

Woman With Cystic Fibrosis Gets ‘First of its Kind’ Quadruple-Organ Transplant at Northwestern

Wehrle, 36, had a “first of its kind” quadruple-organ transplant at Northwestern Memorial Hospital — the first performed in the United States on a patient who’d already had a lung transplant.

Northwestern doctors Ankit Bharat, MD, and Satish Nadig, MD, PhD, said the team also had to anticipate potential challenges, including minimizing blood loss, improving safety and keeping the organs viable throughout the lengthy procedure.

Mom With Cystic Fibrosis Thrives After Quadruple-Organ Transplant Surgery in Chicago

The Iowa mother arrived to Northwestern Hospital four months ago on a ventilator and on life support. She received a second chance at life after surgeons performed a first-of-its-kind quadruple-organ transplant.

“One of the key factors that enabled this approach was the advanced machine perfusion technology,” said Satish Nadig, MD, PhD, chief of abdominal organ transplantation and director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center.

Northwestern Performs Rare Quadruple-Organ Transplant on Woman Who Previously Had Lung Transplant

A lung transplant can leave dense scars and distort a person’s natural anatomy, making a second lung transplant trickier than a first one, according to Northwestern doctors.

“This is a young woman who really had no options and she really had nowhere else to go, and we were able to apply the power of transplant to be able to save her life in a way that had not ever been done before,” said Dr. Satish Nadig, transplant surgeon and director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive Transplant Center.