The Benefits Of Lung Volume Reduction Surgery

INDICATIONS FOR SURGERY: The patient is a 62-year-old Caucasian male who has pneumonia. The patient has been on a ventilator for over 2 weeks and appears to require long-term ventilator. The patient is undergoing tracheostomy for this purpose.

When the organs fail the only option is a transplant. With lungs there is only a 50% rate of a five year survival rate after a lung transplantation involving the end-stage respiratory disease. With such a drastic survival rate a study was completed to determine if patients could have a better outcome. This study was done to help determine effective methods to enhance lung transplants before surgery; the Doctors placed the recipients on bi-level positive airway pressure ventilation (BIPAP.) “BIPAP is a noninvasive mode of ventilation administered through a tight-fitting mask to assist spontaneously breathing patients”

Another treatment is and oxygen treatment which gives you extra oxygen and you wear a mask which you can carry with you or go to the doctor. Some have small oxygen where you carry in backpack but you would need to carry with you at all times. Lastly, surgery with is not really used when someone has COPD and only for those whom have a severe COPD and the treatment does not improve with other treatment listed above. Prevention really is to just stop smoking and exposure to

In order to treat this disease, smokers need to participate in smoking cessation which involves the most important step, to stop smoking. Medications to help treat COPD include bronchodilators, such as inhalers, which relax muscles around the air way. Inhaled steroids can reduce air way inflammation and help prevent exacerbations. Lung therapies include oxygen therapy which will help increase blood oxygen. If severe enough, surgeries such as lung volume reduction surgery, lung transplants, and a bullectomy may be

This "dead space" of air needs to stay in your lungs constantly; otherwise the lung will completely deflate. If the lung has every bit of air sucked out of it, it will collapse and need to be re-inflated.

The key to treat lung symptoms is to release the mucus out of lungs and clear the blockage. There is a treatment called the chest therapy, which a patient is at laying position and a helper gently taps patient’s chest and back with cupped hands to push the mucus out of the lung. There is also an equipment that patients wear as a vest that vibrates, which it helps to encourage patients to do the therapy on their own. Other types of treatments are taking antibiotics, which treat lung infections and promote healthier lungs. Often, patients take the medications that dilute the thickened mucus and inhale a vapor to open up the clogged

It causes a decrease in lung functions, and very often, shows signs of breathlessness. It is indeed a destructive disease of the lung in which the alveoli (small sacs) that promote oxygen exchange between the air and the bloodstream are destroyed. Emphysema is a progressive, degenerative kind of disease that destroys many alveolar walls. As a result, clusters of small air sacs merge into larger chambers, which decrease the total surface area of the alveolar walls. At the same time, the alveolar walls lose their elasticity and the capillary networks associated with the alveoli diminish (Shier et al; 2010). It is in this sense that a person with emphysema finds it very difficult and increasingly hard to breath, has to force air out of the lungs because the tissue elasticity of the lungs and for that matter, the alveolar sacs have reduced or completely destroyed. Furthermore, abnormal muscular efforts are required to compensate for the lack of elastic recoil that normally contributes to

In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the airways and tissues of the lungs gradually become damaged over time, causing

Emphysema damage to the alveoli causes a significant decrease in the surface area available for adequate gas exchange ability.

However, even though there is no cure for COPD, by properly managing with medications such as bronchodilators both short and long acting, corticosteroids, supplemental oxygen, and nonpharmacological treatments such as to stop smoking and limit exposure to said toxins. Also with pulmonary rehabilitation, which focuses on teaching the patient about the disease, the treatment available and how to manage with their diagnosis of the disease. Furthermore, the need for proper exercise is taught and encouraged.

J Mann, 160 post-operative respiratory complications were found in 144 patients. All the patients received gas, oxygen and anaesthetic (Mann, 1949) It also suggests respiratory problems rise abruptly in males over the age of 40. Mr Street is 69 years old. Patients are at risk of the following post-surgery loss of lung volume, CR conditioning, pain on deep breathing, pain on coughing, infection which can also be related to stress and weight loss, DVT, atelectasis, low oxygen saturation, reduced thoracic expansion, low mood, loss of mobility due to obesity which can result in reduced joint range and muscle strength, anxiety (secondary to his diagnosis of a potentially life limiting

Emphysema affects the parenchyma of the lung through destruction of the alveolar walls, leading to permanent enlargement of air spaces distal to the

The major goals of treatment are to ease the symptoms, to slowdown disease progression, and to improve the quality life of the patients. Patients with mild to moderate COPD can be adequately managed in the primary care setting by the family physician, whereas patients with more severe COPD and multiple comorbidities need a multidisciplinary approach to treatment. Family physicians should perform spirometry on all patients over 40 years old for early diagnosis, especially if one falls into to the risk group and have history of smoking, chronic cough, shortness of breath, and even frequency of cold (Eeden & Burns, 2008). Smoking cessation remains the single most important factor in slowing the decline in lung function in patients with COPD. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is recommended for the patients with moderate and severe COPD.

As COPD is a progressive disease with a decline in lung function, the results are remarkable. The authors observed - only in a third - high decline in lung function (more than 40 ml per year). This indicates COPD is in fact not invariably progressive. More than half the patients show a declination in lung function on par with healthy individuals.

Tracheostomy, also known as an artificial airway is a long-tern or permanent surgical procedure where a hole is made into the trachea (windpipe) called the stoma. A tracheostomy tube is then placed through the opening and into the trachea, in which it replaces a person’s nose and mouth as a secondary airway for breathing to provide oxygen to get into the lungs. Tracheostomies are most commonly used for purposes of mechanical ventilation in chronically ill patients, treatment of an upper airway obstruction and head trauma in coma patients. This procedure dates back at least 200 years and has been done in countries all around the world.