My father had a triple bypass last Friday and today the doctor said his ex-ray showed that the top of one of his lungs had fell. Does anyone know how this is cured and how long it takes to heal. We will speak more with the doctor tomorrow, just want a little bit of information tonight.
2006-12-12 18:51:03 · 2 answers · asked by 2"CUTE"2B30 4 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Injuries
The guy who answered that a collapsed lung never heals is simply wrong. Don't listen to that.
A pneumothorax, or air between the lung and chest wall is not uncommon after cardiothoracic surgery. Your father almost certainly had chest tubes in place when he came out of surgery. These are what are used to help reinflate a lung when it has collapsed, though if is an apical pneumothorax like you describe, the tube will be placed in a different position. The tube is hooked up to a suction device that will suck the air out of the pleural cavity and provide a negative pressure that the lung can re-expand into.
There are a variety of sizes of chest tubes, from thin pigtail catheters to large-bore tubes a centimeter or more in diameter. I've put in probably a hundred or more chest tubes. Typical, uncomplicated pneumothoraces will usually be fixed in 2-3 days with a chest tube.
If the collapse is 10% or less, he can be managed by breathing high flow oxygen and using an incentive spirometer, a device that helps him deep breathe.
2006-12-14 15:30:30 · answer #1 · answered by tiredsurgeon 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
How Long Before a Collasped Lung Heals?
My father had a triple bypass last Friday and today the doctor said his ex-ray showed that the top of one of his lungs had fell. Does anyone know how this is cured and how long it takes to heal. We will speak more with the doctor tomorrow, just want a little bit of information tonight.
2015-08-18 23:16:39 · answer #2 · answered by Candance 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A collapsed lung, or pneumothorax, occurs when air leaks out of the lung and into the pleural space. Usually, when the collapse is 10%- 25%, the lung can be re-expanded by using breathing exercises. With a degree of collapse greater than 30%, a chest tube is inserted into the pleural space and hooked up to suction to allow the air trapped there to escape and the lung to fully expand. This tube may remain in place for a few days to a few weeks, depending on the underlying damage to the lung. In either case, his lung will heal in time.
2006-12-13 11:59:57 · answer #3 · answered by spyderman7652000 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My 94 year old grandma had a collasped lung and she just couldn't take the pain of the needle to reinflate it. They try twice. They decided to leave it and it did slowy did reinflate, but I'm not sure if it is as good as before. She's very healthy and has no breathing problems, but it took several weeks for her to get her to get well. (I don't know if I got the all the details right, with old people you only get bits and pieces) I wish you and your father all the best and I hope that you both have piece of mind.
2006-12-12 19:13:09 · answer #4 · answered by Rockford 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Once you have collapsed a section of the lung, it will never reinflate.
However don't worry, the body is extremely good at dealing with this and has a system called 'ventalatory perfusion coupling' which will ensure his blood returning from the lungs is fully oxygenated.
2006-12-12 18:54:56 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋