Thoracic Surgery Specialist Prof. from Acıbadem Maslak Hospital. Dr. Semih Halezeroğlu says that the disease called pneumothorax in medicine is a good example of this. because this disease is seen in tall, dark-skinned, thin physique men between the ages of 20-35. If these people also smoke, their lungs can’t take it anymore and some bubbles form on the lungs. Then these bubbles burst and the lung is almost as big as an orange. People in this situation must go to the doctor urgently because they cannot breathe, and if they cannot catch up with the doctor, they may face extremely serious consequences.
Pneumothorax: Lungs Deflating
The lungs are located in the thoracic cavity, in a sheltered area between the ribs. Pneumothorax means air in the chest cavity. However, there should be no air in the rib cage. Lungs are organs like sponges and they are in a closed box. The air taken from the mouth goes into the lungs, it is not collected outside. These organs can also be thought of as a kind of balloon. If the balloon bursts from somewhere, the lung deflates.
The lungs may burst due to trauma or spontaneously, the causes of trauma-related explosion are as follows:
When the lungs are hit,
When sharp instruments such as knives enter the lung,
When a rib is broken by an impact.
Spontaneous exploding of the lung: Spontaneous Pneumothorax” Explaining their name, Prof. Dr. Semih Halezeroğlu gives the following information:
Small bubbles begin to form in the upper part of the lung, especially in smokers. These balloons burst with straining, sneezing, coughing and the air in the lungs is collected in the chest cavity. This disease is known as the disease of tall, thin, thin and dark-haired men. It occurs more frequently in people aged 20-35 years. The incidence in women is one in 10 compared to men. It is much rarer in stocky, burly people.
The disease is seen in 20 of every 100,000 men. The incidence of the disease in smokers increases 22 times in men and 6 times in women, but the disease can also be seen in non-smokers with these physical characteristics. Here, it is important that the person does not drink at all, not how many or how many packs a day. There is no rule that says drinking less will save a person from this disease. We recommend that not only those at risk of pneumothorax but also any healthy individual smoke cigarettes. Smoking is a habit that endanger the health of all individuals, whether young or old, male or female.
What happens at the time of the explosion?
A sudden and severe pain occurs in the chest of the person during the explosion of the lungs, this pain enters the chest like lightning and causes coughing. Patients describe this situation: I started coughing, my breathing was short, I couldn’t take two steps”. They express that, depending on the size of the perforation in the lung, sometimes it may take a few hours, and if the patient does not consult a doctor in a short time, he may even die due to the effect of compressed air.
Their house must be close to the hospital
Pneumothorax patients are prohibited from boarding the plane for a certain period of time and diving underwater for life. In fact, it is important that these people live close to a health institution. In addition, these patients must not be constipated; If they strain, if they make excessive effort and continue to smoke, their lungs may explode again.
How is pneumothorax treated?
When the disease first appears, if the air collected inside is small, only oxygen is given. The air here is absorbed by itself over a period of time. If there is a large amount of air escaping from the lungs, a drain is inserted, that is, a thin tube is inserted and advanced between the ribs, and the air collected in the thorax is evacuated. Drain stays here for two or three days. Lungs swell and develop. Then the drain is removed. After these, the person is prohibited from smoking and boarding the plane. All these prohibitions continue for about 3-6 months. The person is banned from diving underwater for the rest of his life.
People who have the disease once have a 25 percent chance of getting it twice
There is a possibility of recurrence, 75 percent of the time, it does not recur; 25% of the time, it will happen again. In other words, one out of every four people who have this disease recurs. In this case, we operate on these patients. Endoscopically, with the video-thoroscopic method, we stick the lung to the inner surface of the ribs so that there is no collapse. We enter the rib cage with a camera through a single 1.5 cm incision. We are doing a procedure that will remove the bubbles in the lung and make the lung stick. Then the lung adheres to the chest wall, no more pneumothorax. The procedure takes about an hour and the patient is discharged after 2-3 days. We forbid the patient to smoke, but he can take a plane and travel long distances.