Pneumothorax
What is it?
A collapsed lung, or pneumothorax, occurs when all or part of a lung collapses or caves inward. This occurs when air gets in the area between the lung and chest wall. When this happens the lung cannot fill up with air, breathing becomes hard, and the body gets less oxygen. A collapsed lung can occur spontaneously in a healthy person or in someone who has lungs compromised by trauma, asthma, bronchitis, or emphysema.
The pleural space is the space between the two layers of pleural tissue (visceral and parietal), which line the inside of the chest cavity, and lungs. The two layers are held together by a small negative pressure or vacuum. This keeps the lungs inflated. The pleural space is normally empty except for a small amount of fluid. Air or fluid may accumulate in the space under a number of circumstances including during chest surgery, as a result of chest trauma, pneumonia or some intraabdominal conditions.
Symptoms
Sudden shortness of breaths, dry cough, cyanosis (turning blue) and pain felt in the chest, back and/or arms are the main symptoms.
Occurrence
Spontaneous pneumothoraces are reported in young people with a tall, skinny stature. There is a preponderance among males, possibly because men are in general taller than women. The reason for this association, while unknown, is hypothesized to be the presence of subtle abnormalities in connective tissue.
Treatment
A chest tube is a long hollow tube inserted between the ribs and into the pleural space. An underwater seal drain (UWSD) is the specialized drain, which is attached to the chest tube. Chest tubes are normally inserted under a local anaesthetic or under a general anaesthetic if the patient is undergoing chest surgery.
A pneumothorax or air in the pleural space (sometimes referred to as a ‘collapsed lung’) can also occur spontaneously. The fluid or air can accumulate rapidly or slowly over a number of days. This air or fluid may lead to an increased difficulty in breathing for a patient. If both fluid and air need to be drained the patient may require 2 chest tubes.
Chest drains normally remain in so long as the air or fluid remains in the pleural space. The patient will have regular chest x-rays to monitor the resolution of the problem.
Surgery
Pleurodesis
The surgeon "roughs" up the inside chest wall ("parietal pleura") so the lung attaches to the wall with scar tissue. This can also include a "parietal" pleurectomy, which is the removal of the "parietal" pleura; "parietal" pleura is the serous membrane lining the inner surface of the thoracic cage and facing the "visceral" pleura, which lies all over the lung surface. Both operations can be performed using keyhole surgery to minimise discomfort to the patient.
*******
Yupp, i went through this twice, first in June 08 and then again in Jan 09. And nope, this will never occur again after the two operations.
*******
There are so many things to look forward to, and i'm certainly looking forward to these things.
A collapsed lung, or pneumothorax, occurs when all or part of a lung collapses or caves inward. This occurs when air gets in the area between the lung and chest wall. When this happens the lung cannot fill up with air, breathing becomes hard, and the body gets less oxygen. A collapsed lung can occur spontaneously in a healthy person or in someone who has lungs compromised by trauma, asthma, bronchitis, or emphysema.
The pleural space is the space between the two layers of pleural tissue (visceral and parietal), which line the inside of the chest cavity, and lungs. The two layers are held together by a small negative pressure or vacuum. This keeps the lungs inflated. The pleural space is normally empty except for a small amount of fluid. Air or fluid may accumulate in the space under a number of circumstances including during chest surgery, as a result of chest trauma, pneumonia or some intraabdominal conditions.
Symptoms
Sudden shortness of breaths, dry cough, cyanosis (turning blue) and pain felt in the chest, back and/or arms are the main symptoms.
Occurrence
Spontaneous pneumothoraces are reported in young people with a tall, skinny stature. There is a preponderance among males, possibly because men are in general taller than women. The reason for this association, while unknown, is hypothesized to be the presence of subtle abnormalities in connective tissue.
Treatment
A chest tube is a long hollow tube inserted between the ribs and into the pleural space. An underwater seal drain (UWSD) is the specialized drain, which is attached to the chest tube. Chest tubes are normally inserted under a local anaesthetic or under a general anaesthetic if the patient is undergoing chest surgery.A pneumothorax or air in the pleural space (sometimes referred to as a ‘collapsed lung’) can also occur spontaneously. The fluid or air can accumulate rapidly or slowly over a number of days. This air or fluid may lead to an increased difficulty in breathing for a patient. If both fluid and air need to be drained the patient may require 2 chest tubes.
Chest drains normally remain in so long as the air or fluid remains in the pleural space. The patient will have regular chest x-rays to monitor the resolution of the problem.
Surgery
Pleurodesis
The surgeon "roughs" up the inside chest wall ("parietal pleura") so the lung attaches to the wall with scar tissue. This can also include a "parietal" pleurectomy, which is the removal of the "parietal" pleura; "parietal" pleura is the serous membrane lining the inner surface of the thoracic cage and facing the "visceral" pleura, which lies all over the lung surface. Both operations can be performed using keyhole surgery to minimise discomfort to the patient.
*******
Yupp, i went through this twice, first in June 08 and then again in Jan 09. And nope, this will never occur again after the two operations.
*******
There are so many things to look forward to, and i'm certainly looking forward to these things.
posted by EDC at
5:49 PM
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